


What a Tragedy

by Lunermoon1000



Category: My Hero Academia
Genre: Abandoned Izuku, Aizawa needs a nap, Angst, Angst/Comfort, Anxiety, Character death that’s not that serious, Dadmic, Dadzawa, Hurt/Comfort, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, Izuku Needs a Hug, Izuku is an analyst, Izuku is depressed, Kidnapping, Mentioned League of Villains (My Hero Academia), Might add more tags later, OC characters, OC deaths, PTSD, Parental Aizawa Shouta | Eraserhead, Trauma, Villain Midoriya Izuku, desperately, im not that sorry, im so sorry, kidnapped Izuku, parental nezu, platonic relationships other than erasermic, smart izuku, so much angst that its overwhelming, sort of villain deku, villain Izuku but not by choice, why am i like this?
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-30
Updated: 2021-02-11
Packaged: 2021-03-06 05:34:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 20
Words: 43,974
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25608226
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lunermoon1000/pseuds/Lunermoon1000
Summary: Izuku has lived his life alone since the ripe age of four. Or at least he wishes he was completely alone. His mother leaves him to the streets to pursue better opportunities and he wanders around looking for a home. He finds one, but it's not the kind he wants.Years later he walks through a portal under the control of the LoV with the destination of the USJ where a certain dark haired hero catches sight of him.What will Aizawa do about the miserable looking green haired boy who was obviously there against his will?How long will it take to save him?And can Izuku survive long enough to see himself get saved?
Relationships: Aizawa & Midoriya, Aizawa Shouta & Iida Tensei & Kayama Nemuri & Midoriya Izuku & Yamada Hizashi, Aizawa Shouta | Eraserhead/Yamada Hizashi | Present Mic, Aizawa Shouta/Yamada Hizashi, Eraserhead/Present Mic, Nezu & Midoriya, Yamada & Midoriya
Comments: 237
Kudos: 1972
Collections: BNHA Rereadables





	1. The Hero with Food

Izuku shifted uncomfortably against the wall of a dark alley way. The sound of cats fighting and cars driving past made him anxious. He shivered against the cold night air that smelled of trash and grime. 

He hated it.

He didn't really understand why he was even there. Mommy didn't love him anymore and told him not to come back so he left. It had only been a week and his red shirt was already covered in dirt. Some old man was fighting him for food earlier and left him with an aching scratch on his arm that was bleeding for a while. Mommy wasn't there to kiss it better anymore so he just held it painfully. 

At least he got the apple so he had something to show for it.

It still wasn't enough to cure his grumbling stomach, though. That begged to question of what he was going to eat next? And when would it be? He was still a four year old boy with no money. He remembered that Mommy had told him that people get jobs and do work for money.

Where would he get a job and how?

That was his last thought before he drifted off to sleep that night to the cats fighting and cars driving.

____________________________________

Shouta Aizawa walked down the street with his groceries in hand. Stupid cockatoo forgot to get the ingredients for dinner so Shouta had to go out and do it himself.

He decided to have Hizashi make a simple chicken and teriyaki stir fry. Hizashi always liked to make extra for leftovers in case they didn't feel like cooking one night so he bought all the needed ingredients and headed back home without a second thought. That was until he felt someone following him. It was the middle of the day and there were other people around but he felt eyes on him.

Shouta stopped and turned around quickly. A small squeak was heard as something small darted into an alleyway. Standing there for a second he turned around and kept walking, the feeling of eyes following with him.

Why would someone want to follow him? He hadn't done anything that might catch the eye of any unsavory characters. He was an underground hero for a reason, he didn't have any real opposing enemies other than the creeps that stalked alleys at three in the morning. 

Had a villain decided to get revenge on him for catching a relative? Unlikely, he didn't have his name on the media often, he tried to stay away from the media and press as much as possible.

Shouta stopped once more when he was closer to his front door and turned again just in time to see a face dart behind a different alleyway wall. Whoever was following him was short and very bad at hiding. "Who's there? Come out right now!"

A small hand peeked out along with the face of a small child. He didn't look older than eight years old. Shouta immediately softened up his posture to look less threatening and calmed his voice. "Did you need help?"

He blinked up at Shouta and softly shook his head. He kneeled down and beckoned the child to come out, dropping the groceries on the ground beside him. The boy bit his lip and inched out of the alleyway. Shouta could see him entirely now, a red shirt and brown shorts that looked way too small covered in dirt and blood. He had curly green hair that looked completely black due to the grime and grease. Small cuts lined his arms and legs, some even looked like animal bites. 

Big tired green eyes looked down at the ground in embarrassment for being caught while his hands played with the hem of his shirt. There were dirt smudges on his cheeks that covered an array of freckles. 

Shouta beckoned him to come closer once more and the child hesitantly padded over on dirty bare feet. He stopped in front of him while still looking down at the ground. 

No wait.

The kid wasn't looking at the ground this time, but at the contents inside the grocery bags. 

"Were you following me?" Shouta asked patiently.

A small nod was what he got in return. 

"Why?" Shouta suspected he already knew but wanted to make sure.

The boy bit his lip again before pointing at his bags. He was hungry. "Where are your parents?"

He shifted on his feet uncomfortably. "Didn't want me..." He heard him whisper. Abandoned. Shouta internally groaned. He supposed he could call Tsukauchi about this later after he got this kid taken care of.

Shouta sighed and put a hand out for the kid. "I'm a pro hero. I can help you. Why don't you come with me and I can get you something to eat."

The boy's eyes widened in shock before he nodded to the sound of getting food. Shouta took his small skinny hand and began the rest of the walk home. Walking through the threshold of the front door, he persuaded the kid through as well. 

"Babe? Are you home?" Hizashi's voice sounded throughout the apartment. The boy folded into himself and withdrew, scared. He cursed his husband's loud tendencies before replying.

"Yeah. I'm gonna need some help with this."

Shouta put the grocery bags on the counter after pulling off his boots and replacing them with his slippers. Hizashi walked into the room wearing a band shirt and cargo shorts. His hair was down and pulled into a half bun with a different pair of sunglasses hanging on his face. He saw the little boy and looked to Shouta. "Whose this little guy?" Hizashi kneeled down in front of the boy whose eyes were wide with surprise.

"Present Mic," He whispered in awe to himself.

Hizashi startled, "Huh! You got good eyes, Little Listener! Where did you come from?"

Shouta kneeled down and whispered in his ear, "Abandoned. Thought we'd clean him up before calling Tsukauchi."

Hizashi looked up at him in surprise before looking back at the kid. He smiled and put his hand out for him the shake. "You can call me Yamada. Do you mind telling me your name?" 

The little boy looked at Hizashi's hand like it were an offering from god and took it with his small boney one. "Izuku."

"Surname?" 

"I... Don't remember. I'm sorry," He began tearing up. 

"Hey, hey. It's okay. You don't have to be sorry, it's not your fault," Hizashi comforted. Shouta didn't really know what to do. He wasn't the best at comforting people, especially distressed children. 

Hizashi led him into the apartment where he gave him some smaller clothes that they'd outgrown. They'd still be enormous on Izuku but it was better than the clothes he was wearing before. They let Izuku into the bathroom to take a bath and said to come out when he was done.

"So what happened, Shou? You just went out to get groceries," Hizashi asked while starting dinner for three. 

"He was following me home. I think he wanted the food in the bags. He looks really thin, it's worrying," Shouta sat down at the counter and leaned on his elbows. "What do you think will happen to him? He said his parents abandoned him so he obviously can't go back to them."

"Tsukauchi might have to put him in the system. If no one wants him then that might be a problem. You should call him right now while Izuku is in the bath."

"Yeah, you're right," Shouta said as he pulled out his phone. He dialed the number and just as expected, the man answered within the first few rings. 

"Eraserhead? You don't normally call me in the middle of the day," Tsukauchi said. The sound of him drinking coffee was heard from the other line.

"There's an issue I ran into while grocery shopping. It wasn't a villain, but a little kid. He's been abandoned. I took him back home with me and he's taking a bath now. Thought I should call you," He said.

"Did you catch his name? Or how old he is?" Tsukauchi said as typing from his computer came through. 

"His name is Izuku. Said he doesn't remember his last name, though. I didn't ask but he looks about eight, maybe nine." Shouta shifted in the hard wooden counter stool. 

"Quirk?" 

"Didn't ask. But it must be part of the reason he was abandoned."

More typing was heard from the other side of the line as Tsukauchi tried looking for the kids identity. "There are a few Izuku's in Musutafu but only one that's been reported missing. Cute kid from the picture. Midoriya Izuku. Quirkless. Went missing about four years ago when he was four, right after he was diagnosed."

Shouta felt his heart break a little at that. Someone really abandoned such a small and adorable child just because he didn't have a Quirk. What a twisted world they lived in. 

He knew the mortality rate for Quirkless children and how fewer and fewer are born each year. Most of them died before making it to high school from being thrown to the streets or getting abused. It was a sad truth that some people just don't see Quirkless the same.

Shouta himself had been abused in his youth for having a "weak Quirk". Although, he knew that Quirkless had it much worse than him. 

"He would be about eight years old by now. Lucky you found him. Everyone thought he was dead," Tsukauchi's voice brought him out of his thoughts. "Strange enough, it wasn't his mother who reported him missing. A Mitsuki Bakugo filed a missing persons report after being called that he was gone."

That was strange. 

Why would a whole other person report Izuku missing? Likely because his mother didn't really care.

He shoved that detail aside for now and focused on what the detective was saying. "You going to come by later? I'm sure there could be charges placed against the mother for child abandonment."

"I'll stop by sometime tomorrow, if that's alright with you. I'm kinda swamped with work at the moment but the moment I can, I'll come pick him up off your hands."

"What do you think will happen to him?" Shouta asked curiously.

"Well I'd have to guess that he'd go into the foster system. We can keep an eye on him once in a while to make sure he won't get abused, if it makes you feel better."

"Thank you," Shouta saw his husband whisper something to him. "Mic says hi by the way."

"Alright," He could practically hear the smile. "Tell him I said hello as well. I'll see you two tomorrow. Bye."

"Goodbye."

He hung up the phone as Hizashi put a plate of stir fry and rice in front of him. That was the moment that a small head peeked out from behind the wall of the hallway. Shy green eyes looked at the food hungrily.

"Hello there Little Listener!~" Hizashi cooed. "Do you want some food?"

He waved a smaller plate of stir fry before placing it on the counter in front of the bar stool next to Shouta. Izuku nodded before slowly coming out from behind the wall. He was wearing the shirt that had been offered to him; a black band tee that went down to his knees like a dress, and black joggers shorts that were many sizes too big. His hair was wet and dripping with bath water and his face had been cleaned to show cheeks sprinkled with freckles.

Shouta could still see the small cuts, bruises, and incisions on his pale skin. It looked like the kid had been in a cat fight or something. He helped the small child onto the stool where he then picked up the offered chopsticks.

Hizashi walked off, probably to get the first aid kit to treat Izuku's injuries. "Did you have a nice bath?" He asked.

Izuku looked up at him and nodded while smiling. A bit of teriyaki sauce stuck to the side of his face while he chewed. "You have sauce on your cheek." Izuku's eyes widened and he immediately looked around until he found the napkins. He pulled one out and wiped both sides of his face.

Okay.

That was cute.

First aid kit in hand, Hizashi walked back into the room and turned the boy's chair towards him where he kneeled down and began to treat Izuku's cuts. One of them (that Shouta was right in assuming was an animal bite) needed to be wrapped in bandages after being disinfected.

Shouta found it strange that the boy was so silent. While he did look at both Hizashi and him in awe, he didn't ask any questions or anything close as to what Hizashi said little kids did when they found him on patrol. His eyes brimmed with intelligence and questions that were otherwise unheard. 

For a child it could've just been that he was shy, but they were heroes. Little kids weren't usually shy when it came to talking to heroes.

He decided to brush it off. They were stuck with the kid for the night anyway, maybe he'd be better by tomorrow. "So Izuku, where do you live?" Hizashi asked. 

"I don't know," He shrugged. "I would stay in t-the dark places at night t-to hide."

"Dark places?" Hizashi asked.

"Hide from what?" Shouta asked right after.

"In the places between buildings," Izuku answered Hizashi. So he slept in alleyways. But why was he avoiding why he was hiding.

"What were you hiding from, Izuku?" He asked again.

Izuku bit his lip a little and looked down. "The purple misty man. He has yellow eyes that glow and wears a fancy suit. He doesn't talk to me but I see him sometimes. I don't like him. He's scary. Just standing there. Sometimes it's like he's trying to get me to follow him but I don't wanna. I don't wanna go with him," He said in a small voice as tears pricked his eyes.

Shouta felt his blood go cold a little. It wasn't rare for abandoned children to get kidnapped while on the streets. If that's what was going to happen, then he was glad he found this kid when he did, especially since this child had no way of defending himself.

"So he never spoke to you?" Hizashi asked and reached a hand up to wipe Izuku's tears.

Izuku shook his head and looked back down at the floor. "Am I in trouble?"

"Not at all, kid. We just want to keep you safe," Shouta said. And it was true. Shouta wanted to keep him safe from whoever was following him.

Hizashi started making light conversation with the small child while Shouta set up the couch for Izuku.

They gave him a pad and pen to draw with because they didn't have anything else to occupy him with. What they didn't expect was that when Hizashi went to check on him, he saw a full blown analysis of himself.

It was so detailed that he just had to show Shouta. "Do you do analysis a lot, Izuku?" He asked.

"I usually use napkins with pens from restaurants or libraries. But they usually don't let me take the pens with me," Izuku said shyly.

"What do you do with the analysis?" Shouta asked. The analysis on Hizashi was very detailed. He wondered if the other analysis were this accurate and were heroes too.

Izuku looked at him innocently, "I just leave them. They don't let me take the pens so I don't think they want me to take the paper either."

"Were your other analysis of heroes too?" 

"I do anyone. Some of them are just people, others are heroes. I've done villains too," Izuku said.

"That's very nice, Izuku. We're going to have someone come by tomorrow to see you. Is that alright?" He waited for Izuku to nod. "He's going to come tomorrow and talk to you more about the purple mist man. And then talk about your mother."

Izuku flinched at the mention of his mother. Shouta suspected there might be more than child abandonment at play here.

Hizashi finally decided it was time for Izuku to go to bed and tucked him in on the couch where he grabbed one of the smaller plush pillows and hugged it in his sleep. Adorable.

Both heroes walked back to their own room and closed the door silently. "He's so cute. How could anyone give that up?" Hizashi asked as he laid down next to his husband.

"I don't know. But we shouldn't get attached. Tsukauchi is going to pick him up tomorrow after questioning him. He said he might go into the foster system and that we can keep an eye on him to make sure he isn't in an abusive homing environment," Shouta said.

"Good. I want to keep an eye on him. He's smart. Freakishly smart, especially for an eight year old boy," Hizashi said.

"That's true. He is a smart kid," Shouta admitted. "But this can all wait for tomorrow. Now it's time for bed."

"Can't agree more."

"Goodnight, Shou~"

"Night, Zashi."

Shouta closed his eyes and let all the stress from that day fade as he slipped away into the dark corners of his mid for rest.

Words would not be able to later express his fear and anxiety when he came to later check on Izuku and found the blankets and pillows strewn on the floor with the boy in question gone from the house. 

Not a trace was left of him.


	2. Glass Shards

Shouta curled up in his sleeping bag on the couch in the break room. Only God knew how much he needed a nap. This years applicants seemed strong enough. None of them really caught his eye other than the one kid who scored first with explosions, but that's the props in having a "flashy Quirk".

There was one kid who got in solely on rescue points after saving a girl. He had a mental Quirk, so that caught his eye. There was one kid who was placed in his class who had a perverted look to him. Shouta thinks he'll be gone by the end of the first week.

Hizashi walked in and saw him there. "Hey, Shou! You ready setting up your classroom for this year?"

Shouta groaned in response. 

"Aww. I'm sorry Shouta. I'll help you out this year. I know you'll miss the free time you had last year," Hizashi said.

Last year Shouta had expelled his entire class and the free time he had was amazing. He didn't see any potential in any of them and there's a point where you just have to let them go. Too many people wanted to be heroes for selfish reasons and it set a bad taste on his tongue. 

It'd been seven years and he still thought a little boy had more potential. Izuku... He'd only known the kid for a few hours and he was already attached. That didn't happen to him, he wasn't the type of person to get attached to people quickly. 

But this one small child had managed to be so memorable after one day. 

Shouta thought about him often. He was supposed to watch one Quirkless boy for just one night until Tsukauchi came the next morning, and when he came back he was gone.

He liked to trick himself in believing Izuku ran away and grew up and got a job. That he was living a normal happy life as a young fifteen year old boy. But his mind told him otherwise.

The room had been left as a disaster. And there were clear signs of a struggle, not to mention the strange dust found on the carpet by the blanket. 

He just didn't want to believe it. 

Bringing himself back to reality, he looked to his husband with a grateful smile. "Thanks that'd be great."

Hizashi smiled back at him and went back to his desk to get his papers. There was a lot to be done in preparation of the new school year. Shouta had to move on with life. The world kept spinning and time kept moving forward. If he stayed stuck in the past, he'd get left behind.

Shouta just had to keep hoping that; wherever the problem child was, he was safe and happy.

____________________________________

Izuku shifted on the bare dirtied mattress that lay on the floor of a small cemented room. The ceiling had wooden rafters that were too high to reach and looked so old that they might collapsed him. It smelled of dank rotting flesh and blood in there but the smell had long since became nose blind to him.

The room was tiny, so much so that he could touch the sides of it without moving his feet when standing. 

There were no windows in the room and the only lightbulb had been busted years ago after one particularly rough beating season. A large thick wooden door was on the right side of the room, the other side full of monsters that called themselves humans.

He was human. They were just murderers.

Izuku curled up in a ball under the thin half moth eaten blanket. It barley kept away the chilly draft but it was better than nothing, right? He played with the hem of his shirt. It was a black band shirt with short sleeves, it was covered in dirt and his own blood but it was still baggy on him. 

He guessed it was because he was so thin and small or the fact the person who gave it to him was an adult. Him. He was so kind. Izuku can't really remember his name, it'd been so long and he didn't think he even told the greenette his name. He remembers Present Mic, though. He made yummy stir fry for him and complimented his analysis skills.

His analysis.

The reason he was trapped in that room in the first place.

Because he was such a dumbass that he left full blown analysis of random people, some actual heroes, in restaurants and other public places for anyone to pick up. For Kurogiri to pick up.

Izuku fiddled his hands with the shock collar. It fit snugly, if not tightly, at his neck. He loathed it with all his being.

Especially the person who put it on him.

Like he was some sort of pet dog.

The worst part was that he couldn't pull at it or it'd shock him and alert Shigaraki. It also shocked him when he left the perimeter of the bar without Shigaraki, but that never happened. He's tried to escape before but was caught before he even made it to the door.

Punishments were always hard. 

Shigaraki had a remote control for the collar and could shock him whenever he wanted. For punishment it was just one whole mess of pain. From the collar and getting beat up at the same time, sometimes they did it just for laughs and said it was because Izuku had been bad.

It left him tired and drained of all happiness. At that point he couldn't really remember what it felt to be happy. He knew he was happy Present Mic and that other hero. 

Maybe they forgot about him?

We're they looking for him?

Izuku snuggled up with the beat up and tattered stuffed bear beside it. It was something Kurogiri gave him when he was little because he had been good about following orders. Kurogiri might've been the only one who kept him sane, really. 

He would sneak into Izuku's cell with books when Shigaraki was gone and teach Izuku to be smarter. He learned math and science and reading and all kinds of things from the books.

Kurogiri didn't tell him what level of learning he was at. All he told him was that he had to keep getting smarter if he was going to be useful to the League. 

Izuku ignored the why. 

He liked to think Kurogiri was teaching him because he actually cared. 

The green haired boy stroked the head of the dirty bear and hugged it closely. He didn't want to loose it. 

Sometimes he would use the bear as a pillow because he didn't have one. The bear didn't mind obviously, it was a stuffed bear.

The darkness creeped around him, consuming him whole like a blanket. He wasn't afraid of the dark anymore. The darkness kept Shigaraki away from him. 

That was until he heard the door unlock from the outside. It opened with a creak and the hallway light flooded in. It painted the walls and showed new colors of dark red dried blood and dirt. 

Shigaraki stood at the threshold of his cell with a wide and sinister smile. "Good morning, brat," He spoke.

Izuku scrambled to the corner of cell with his legs curled into himself in a weak attempt of defense. The man walked in a step and was already standing in the middle of the room. It was a very small cell. 

He reached down and gripped Izuku by his now long curly hair and dragged him outside and into the bar, making sure to only use four fingers. No customers were there, just him, Shigaraki, and Kurogiri. The man of purple mist stood behind the bar, with his signature blank face as Shigaraki threw him onto the floor. 

"I got a new gob for you," Shigaraki said. He pulled out a composition notebook and an ink pen. "New target. All Might."

Izuku felt his blood run cold. They'd asked him to write analysis on many heroes before. Sometimes even other villains that pissed Shigaraki off. He never knew if the people they asked him to analyze were still alive or not. 

If not then Izuku played part in murder and it broke him in ways that he couldn't explain in words. He essentially killed them. He looked at Shigaraki in horror and violently shook his head no. 

"You don't want to?" Shigaraki asked angrily. "And what makes you think you have a choice?" The sound of him looking in his pocket made Izuku stiff with fear. He pulled out a small slim rectangular remote. There were tiny buttons on it that Izuku never really could tell apart. 

He waved the remote tauntingly in front of Izuku before pressing the first button. Izuku felt a wave of shock shoot through his body like lightning and he opened his mouth to scream for it to stop, but no sound came out. He spasmed on the floor and shook as the electricity wore off and he was left panting and sweating. 

Izuku's throat was already sore before and now if felt like fire. He didn't think he could talk even if he wanted to. 

"Did you learn your lesson, brat?" Shigaraki asked. "Or do you need to have more?"

Giving Izuku the notebook and pen, he backed off. Kurogiri sat him down at the bar stool and turned on the tv as he did every time Izuku analyzed someone. He would've said he didn't need it this time but he didn't really want to speak. Speaking was against the rules, and his throat hurt so he just stayed silent. 

Not like he could speak, anyway.

He hadn't seen the face of the number one hero in so many years, it was like seeing a family member after years. He knew that it was him, but he didn't recognize him.

Izuku stared at his face for a moment. He guessed a part of him did hate All Might a little, for not saving him. But the feeling never lasted long. No one knew where he was or if he was still alive so why would All Might think about him? He could never really hate his idle.

The pen in his hands raced across the paper. Points and facts coming clear. The tv news showed clips of All Might using his Quirk and capturing villains. He analyzed the screen closely.

He wanted to put fake information to protect All Might. To save him. But the last time he tried to do that, the hand man knew exactly why he failed. The scars across his arms were testament enough of what had happened. The hero died in the hospital anyway, even after he wrote the fake information. 

What was the point in trying anymore?

Izuku would just have to trust that the number one hero would survive. 

After he was done, four pages filled the notebook about All Might. Front to back. Shigaraki looked over the notebook with glee and changed the input of the tv. He held up the notebook to the tv with a smile. "Isn't it great, Sensei! Is the information right? You wanted to see his abilities again, didn't you? Isn't it great!"

Izuku felt stiff in his seat. Sensei was scary with an ominous aura to him. He was like pure evil itself. Sensei hadn't really shown much interest in him in years since Izuku was given to Shigaraki. But now he wanted to see what he could do?

"Kurogiri, send the notebook over to me," A voice from the tv sounded. Izuku felt more scared than he did in his whole life. Shigaraki handed the notebook to Kurogiri, who then made a warp gate and left for a few moments.

Shigaraki then apparently saw it was time for Izuku to go and dragged him away again by his hair. The boy was thrown back into his small cell and locked in once more. 

Why did the universe hate him so much?

Izuku curled back up on the mattress with the blanket and stuffed bear, trying not to cry. He couldn't make noise. Noise made Shigaraki angry and he didn't want him to come back.

He choked on his quiet sobs while leaning against the wall. Hopefully, Sensei will be merciful and just kill him.

____________________________________

Izuku opened his eyes slowly to be met with the same darkness of his small cell just like every other day. It was still chilly in there but Izuku has spent enough time in the cold that he didn't bother caring anymore. 

He'd been in much colder rooms with less clothing on.

The baggy band shirt he wore tugged at his waist and he wished he could tie it with a rubber band to fit better. 

Not knowing what time it was, Izuku sat up. He noted that he'd accidentally used his stuffed bear as a pillow again. Picking up the bear he put it in his lap and sat with his back against the hard wall and started to count.

He would count as high as he could before starting over if he messed up. It kept his mind occupied so he wouldn't just be sitting there. Of course the counting was in his mind, he hadn't said a real word in years.

They always say that if you never speak, you loose your voice. And to that, Izuku says it's true. About a month prior Shigaraki complained about how Izuku didn't scream anymore and how it was annoying, and Izuku tried to say something in response but all that came out was a hoarse noise like whisper.

One time a costumer at the bar who happened to be a villain gave him a cigarette out of curiosity and said, "You look like you need it more, kid." When Izuku put it in his mouth, he breathed in and coughed out smoke. His throat felt like molten led had been dropped down his mouth. Talking had been even more of a pain to do after that.

The counting lasted for hours and he lost count a lot after reaching the higher digits, having to then start over. At some point he decided to test himself and count backwards from a thousand. 

He made it to eighty-three before the tell tale sound of his cell being unlocked was heard. Out of panic or instinct, he backed away to the corner of the small room and shielded himself with his arms. The door opened and Izuku could see the light flood in from the hallway, but there were no steps coming in. 

Izuku didn't dare look up in fear that if he looked them in the eye he would be punished, it's happened before.

The voice of Kurogiri spoke softly from the threshold. "I would advise standing. There is a task you must complete."

He looked up to be met with the deep mysterious yellow eyes of the man made of smoke. He stood there patiently waiting for Izuku to stand up. Deciding he didn't want to test that patience, he got to his bare feet and hugged his sides. On his face was a look of complete neutrality, with not a hint of what he was thinking. 

Kurogiri might tell Shigaraki if he shows fear and then it will get the handman riled up.

Izuku followed him through the base and led him to a large bare room. He looked to Kurogiri questioningly as the man reached into his pocket and pulled out a dagger like knife. 

Handing it to him, he left. Izuku looked down at the small dagger in his hand. He walked around before wincing and stepping away with a hiss of pain. Looking down, he sees that he'd stepped on a piece of glass.

His foot bled but he pushed the pain to the back of his mind. It was then he noticed that the floor was covered in glass. Spots were open to step safely but a wrong move would lead to pain.

Izuku looked back over to the door when Shigaraki entered. He wore a normal long sleeved black shirt and black pants with his silver blue hair tied back. Izuku also noted how he was wearing his red sneakers while Izuku was left barefoot. 

The hand that usually covered his face was missing and Izuku saw the dried skin of his face and the scar on his lip and eye. 

Bringing out a knife, Shigaraki held it in front of him with his three fingered gloved hand. At that point Izuku was very confused. Why did he bring me in here? Is he going to kill me?

Shigaraki walked out onto the floor of glass shards and stood opposite of the greenette. With a bored expression, he leapt forwards in an attempt to attack.

Out of reflex, Izuku brought his dagger up and blocked it. He should've known there would be no explanation. The silver haired man backed off and attacked once more, staying on the offense and forcing Izuku into defense. 

He struck the boy with his fist during an opening and Izuku was knocked off his feet. He fell back onto the glass on felt it pierce his skin. Crimson spilled onto the floor and Izuku struggled to his knees after finding spots clean of glass to put his hands. "Get the fuck up, brat!" Shigaraki yelled as he kicked Izuku in the stomach.

More glass shards stabbed Izuku as he hit the ground. He pulled himself to his feet painfully slow and looked at Shigaraki in fear.

Shigaraki put the knife in front of him again and rushed forward once more. His knife grazed his face and Izuku grabbed his arm and threw him with whatever strength he still had. Sadly, the man did not get knocked off his feet as Izuku had wanted, and stopped his fall with his front foot and balanced himself. 

The man looked back at him with shadowed eyes and smirked. Without another word, he rushed Izuku once more. Izuku kept getting his feet swept from under him and the more he did, the more lacerations he got.

One particularly large shard of glass stabbed his shoulder from behind when he fell back that bled all over his shirt. 

He lay on the floor defeated as Shigaraki laughed at him. The handman kicked him once more in his side and left him there alone. At some point Kurogiri came back in and escorted him back to his cell after taking the knife from him, and then left without helping him with his wounds.

The thought came to him to just leave them as it is and not bother about treating them, but he decided against it. He dug behind his mattress and found the small medical kit he built up from pieces of medical equipment he swiped from Kurogiri when he wasn't looking.

Izuku treated his injuries in the dark, not really knowing if he got all the glass out of his skin. His arms now had new scars in addition to the collection he acquired from Shigaraki's Quirk and from the attacks of other villains.... along with the ones from a certain doctor.

He wrapped his arms in white bandages, not really being able to see. Although, he had to remove his torn up and dirty shirt to wrap his shoulder and torso. How he had enough bandages, Izuku had no idea, but he did have enough that his whole torso, shoulder, arms, and parts of his leg were wrapped up.

Carefully slipping his shirt back on, he hid the first aid kit behind his mattress again and laid down with the small blanket. He hoped they wouldn't need him again for the rest of the day, he was already tired enough.

____________________________________

Hizashi Yamada was worried for his husband. The man was already sleep deprived but now that school was coming up once more he would have to teach a class again.

Maybe he would give his hubby a gift? Something do do with coffee? An espresso machine it is, or maybe a wet bar?

Shaking his head, he focused back on the scene in front of him to see the UA applicants fighting the robots once more. He stood atop the building he was on in case any of them were in any real danger.

He spared a glance to his watch. Eight minutes in.

A large groan of metal roared as the large body of a robot peeked it's head from behind a building. He really wanted to watch and evaluate the kiddies with the others but he guessed he was fine on standby. He saved people when he needed to.

The kids ran in the other direction like their lives depended on it. A sharp scream for help was heard and Hizashi was immediately on standby. There was a young girl trapped under debris who was having trouble activating her Quirk on it.

For a moment he thought that the boy with the glasses would go back for her, but to his disappointment, he ran with the crowd. 

Sighing in exasperation, Hizashi swept down and scooped up the girl from under the rubble, then got her to safety. "Put these on," He instructed her. 

Once her ears were safe, he screamed, "TIME!" The end of the exam was called and everyone who wasn't hurt during the test was sent home. 

Finally having the time, he rushed to the store to get his husband a little gift.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this is chapter two UWU  
> Hope you're enjoying the story so far!  
> As you can tell, chapters will be updated every Sunday afternoon and if there is no update than it probably means that something is going on and I'll try updating as soon as I feel better.  
> If anyone has any suggestions on what you want I'm open to ideas as long as they match the plot that I already have planned out.  
> I hope everyone is having a good week and if not than I hope it gets better.  
> Anyway, Thanks for Reading!  
> Bye!  
> ~Care-chan


	3. Blood and Bandages

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Realization and grief

It went on for days on end, so long that Izuku didn't know why he was even trying. They never told him anything that would help him figure out why they were doing this. 

Of course, they had put him through much worse torment than just glass, but that still didn't mean that it didn't hurt like a bitch. He was knocked off his feet and stepped on shards more times than he could count, but that didn't ever stop Shigaraki's attack. 

From what Izuku could tell, this was a means of training him. Which made no sense to him at all because he's never stepped foot out of the bar before. 

Other than when he was with...

So that begged the question of what they were planning. But it still went on and with each day, Izuku found himself getting faster and lighter on his feet.

Kurogiri was, surprisingly, feeding him just a little more than before. Keeping up his relentless assault, Shigaraki ended up stabbing him below the stomach and Izuku felt the white pain surge through his body as the blood flowed down his body and soak his shirt.

Now knowing that anything went, Izuku punched Shigaraki's face and forced him away. The man seethed with rage as he clutched his jaw and rushed him once more while Izuku dodged with his dagger while stepping back for better balance.

The cotton blood stained bandages wrapped around his feet offered minimal protection against the glass that covered the ground, but still kept him from getting more injured.

Izuku clutched his wound with his free arm and fended off the man with the other. He managed to make a few small hits on him before collapsing onto the floor once more. Again, shards pierced his arm mercilessly as his blood stained the glass.

"You really are weak," Shigaraki's rough voice lingered in Izuku's cotton filled ears.

Pathetic 

Useless 

Worthless 

The man left the glass filled room and left Izuku alone once more. Just as he had done for all the weeks leading up to that day.

____________________________________

Just like clockwork, Kurogiri came back and walked up to the boy. Noticing the blood seeping our onto the floor he turned Izuku onto his back and saw his cut up face and blood soaked shirt.

It must've put some urgency into him as he picked up the boy and took him to a separate room where he removed Izuku's shirt (being careful to avoid pulling the shock collar) to reveal the scar filled torso. Kurogiri would've just let it be if it wasn't a wound that would be fatal if not treated.

He stitched up the analyst child and bandaged his torso gently. It was his job to keep Izuku up with schoolwork and keep his mind sharp. They were working on college calculus and other subjects of the like. He might've grown somewhat attached to him along the way as the young child that grew under their care, but it wasn't his place to interfere with Shigaraki's plans, just help him when he asks for it. 

If he wanted to hurt the boy then he stayed out of it, it wasn't his place.

It wasn't until recently when Shigaraki had the idea to bring Izuku along with them on the attack against UA did they think about training him physically. 

They had never thought about it before then, until recently they had just used him for his sharp analysis. It wasn't an awful idea, but didn't have many members to their group yet so, begrudgingly, Shigaraki had to do it.

Izuku coughed and the man of mist half expected there to be a trail of blood come down his mouth, but thankfully, there was not and the only blood on his face was from the small cuts from the glass.

Getting to it, he treated the boy's wounds while he lay there, knocked out from exhaustion. His arms, legs, and feet were covered in bandages when he was done and he slipped Izuku's shirt on and carried him back to his cell.

He laid the boy on the mattress and left, he had to take care of Shigaraki who sat waiting in the bar.

When he got there he saw him at the counter, fingering the gameboy in his gloved hands as he played his game. "He's getting faster."

He grunted in response but didn't stop the game or look up at him. 

"You gave him quite the stab wound," Kurogiri spoke again.

"Deserves it. He's a brat. And it's not like it's the worst thing I've done to him," Shigaraki said.

"Quite true."

The man of mist went behind the bar and wiped the lingering of Izuku's blood off with some alcohol and then proceeded to grab a dirty glass and start cleaning it with a rag.

"The attack is in a few days. Are you prepared Tomura Shigaraki?"

"That's a dumb question. Of course I am."

"You are quite confident in your plan, I assume?" 

"All the NPCs are ready and the Nomu is prepared, everything will go according to plan and All Might will be killed," Shigaraki grinned as he defeated a high level boss in his game.

Kurogiri doesn't reply with an answer other than an affirmative hum as he cleans the beer glass in his hands.

He knows that Shigaraki's plan has many flaws and holes that hadn't been taken into consideration, but he wasn't supposed to interfere. If Shigaraki asked him for his input or opinions then he would give them, but until then he will stay quiet. It could be a helpful learning experience for him.

The only problem that stuck out was if the heroes there would be able to take Izuku or kill the Nomu. Speaking of the boy, he would probably need a new shirt once he grows out of the one he was wearing, but that wouldn't be for a few years so it wasn't a priority at the moment.

Then he realized that if Shigaraki's plan worked it would show the heroes how much control they had. Not just over Nomu, but Izuku too. It would also get the boy out on his feet for the first time in years.

Finally, after moments of silence, he replies, "I have hope that your plan will work."

____________________________________

Shouta was fed up with his new class already. There were a few decent ones, kids that preferred to stay quiet (much to his relief) and kids that were passionate and serious about becoming a hero for good reasons.

If he was forced to put into words how much he loathed getting students who wanted to be heroes just for fame and money, he would claw his eyes out in rage before ending his first sentence.

Of course, as every year, there were students that stuck out to him. Not in the way of them having a flashy Quirk, but in the way of them obviously having issues. 

Shouto Todoroki was an example of this. Shouta knew the heterochromic eyed boy was the son of the infamous Endeavor, which was a reason in itself to worry, but the boy flinched at sudden movement and was withdrawn from his classmates.

He didn't speak unless spoken to, and when he did he was quiet. Then there was the large concerning scar on his face. It could be chalked up to a Quirk accident when he was little but from what he's seen of Endeavor, the boy should have a resistance to fire.

Shouta put that little note aside for now, it could wait u til the staff meeting after school that day. 

Scanning his class of now nineteen students (He'd already expelled one student) he addressed them one final time for that day before heading back in the building after telling them to go change back into their uniforms.

Walking into the staff room, he sat at his desk with his student binder and started working on the paperwork for expelling Yuro Shoi.

His fellow staff members were a bit surprised that it was only one student that he kicked to the boot. Ire spiked in his gut when he found out that they were beating on how many he would expel that day.

Vlad King earned a lot of money that day.

After he was done with the paperwork he sat back in his chair, a cup of coffee in hand, and thought about the plan for the USJ trip. 

Of course it wasn't for two days but Shouta wasn't the type of person to go into things unprepared. That's why he always brought his capture weapon with him wherever he went. Lord help the day that he forgot it and a problem arises.

Shouta took a sip of his coffee and immediately spat it out in disgust. He glared death at the blonde cockatoo that sat next to him who was watching on with an amused smirk. 

He took a deep breath, sat the mug down, and looked to his husband while smiling, "Hizashi. I love you. I really do. And I that you so much for thinking about me when getting me a new coffee maker. But the next time you swipe my coffee out for decaf I'll rip your throat out and blame it on villains."

Shouta reveled in satisfaction as he watched a chill run down Hizashi's spine. "G-Got it."

Getting up to grab a new cup of coffee, he dumped the decaf down the sink and refilled it which actual coffee.

The next day had been surprisingly normal. 

He secretly observed his new class during other lessons to see how motivated they really were and was pleasantly surprised that they gave it their all.

Maybe this bunch was better than last years.

Shouta had to chew Bakugo out after All Might's battle training for using a lethal attack against Shinsou. He could already tell that this one was going to be a massive problem child.

The massive amount of pride that the explosive blonde had was an obvious sign that no one had ever told him no before or told him he was wrong. Shouta would need to get that taken care of and show him that at UA, that wouldn't fly. 

It was the third day of school that really made him irritated. 

The students chose Iida to be class president with Yaoyorozu as his deputy. Little Iida was so grown up in gave him déjà vu when looking at him. He looked like Tensei did when they were in high school except with the addition of glasses. He was more stern than his brother and more tense. Shouta remembered babysitting him when he was younger.

That wasn't what got him irritated, though. It was the goddamn press that managed to break through the UA barrier and set off the alarms, all because they wanted an interview with All Might.

Personally, he thought it was a dumb idea to hire the number one hero to teach children. The oaf didn't even have a teachers license. He may have respected him as a hero, but it didn't mean he thought he was capable of teaching super powered teens.

And now, there was a target painted on UA's back where there would obviously be action. Nezu said he upped the security, but the barrier was still destroyed. 

He and Hizashi managed to keep the crowd back until they left and the barrier was fixed and the cops arrived.

No one figured out who it was that caused it and it made Shouta a little uneasy. When they made it back in the building he was surprised that his students had worked together to calm the stampede. 

Some students were hurt but they were sent to Recovery Girl and would be okay. 

Now it was time for the USJ trip and he loaded everyone onto the bus. All Might wasn't there which irritated him further but he assumed it was because he was already there. 

The uneasy feeling in his gut lingered and he was having trouble distracting himself from it. He decided to listen in on his students conversation where they were lightly teasing Bakugo about his Quirk and personality. 

That was enough to humor him.

Thirteen waited for them outside and when he asked where All Might was he was told that he had wasted all his time that morning. It was still surreal that the number one hero was running out of time to save people.

"I guess we'll have to make do without him," He said as they entered the facility.

Except the next few moments were ones he would never forget for the rest of his life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yo so how’s everyone doing? Hopefully better than me? I hope you like this chapter! Comment any typos I missed so I can fix them if u find any. Hope you all have a good week!  
> ~Care-chan


	4. I’m Alive

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoy this new chapter! I’m still new to this website so I’m still learning how to run it.

Izuku woke in what he assumes is the next morning to the blackness of his small cell once again. 

Something he could tell was that his bandages felt softer than before. He didn't even remember treating them. So who...?

Kurogiri?

It was probable, he was the most compassionate out of any person in the League. Of course, he knew that it didn't stop Kurogiri from letting the other villains do whatever they wanted with him, but at least he was kind enough to treat any wounds that might be fatal. 

He tried to sit up but immediately felt a large wave of nausea hit him like a bus. Izuku felt like he was going to throw up any minute. 

Izuku fell back onto the mattress, praying that Shigaraki would have a sense of mercy and spare him the knife training today. His head pounded like a drum and he found it hard to think straight. Maybe he had a fever? He couldn't tell for certain.

Kurogiri opened the thick door and saw him. "Follow me," He said.

Going against all his instincts telling him to lay back down and ride out his pain, he stood up, using the wall for support.

He walked after the man of mist who would stop every once in a while for him to catch up. Except he didn't take him to the room filled with glass, he took him to the bar. By then his head was killing him but he tried his best not to show it. 

Shigaraki sat there at the bar with a black shirt and black pants. Disembodied hands covered his body. Izuku hated disembodied hands. He shuddered hard. The handman looked over at him and put down his gameboy. "Hey, brat," He spoke with venom.

Izuku would've flinched back if it weren't for the fact his head was still slightly spinning. Shigaraki got up and dig into his pocket, then he pulled out a face mask and shoved it into his chest.

Stumbling back a step, he took the mask. There must have been a confused look on his face because then Shigaraki said, "Put it on, you idiot."

Doing as he told as to not upset Shigaraki, he put on the mask. It covered the small cuts and bruises along his jaw and cheeks but his black eye from getting punched earlier was still very much visible. He didn't know what the mask was for, though. 

What were they doing today? Was there going to be more training, or did Shigaraki get tired of that and wanted to just torture him?

Kurogiri handed home back his dagger and Izuku held it firmly in his bandaged hands. Now that he looked at them through hazy eyes he saw that the bandages would need to be changed. His blood could be seen staining them from under. Maybe he lost too much blood and that's why he feels sick?

As he held the knife he thought about how good it would feel if he attacked Shigaraki right then. He was probably the only person in the world that he wouldn't mind dead. 

Except he'd already tried it, back when he still had his voice. Of course he was overpowered and the punishment was very severe, the long wide scar that covered his entire back was a testament to that.

Thinking about how much pain he was in last time scared him into obedience. 

"It's almost time to go, Tomura Shigaraki," Kurogiri said.

"Splendid. Let's go."

The following actions were somewhat of a blur to him. He remembers the purple portal opening up. The same kind from when he was kidnapped. Then Shigaraki grabbed his bandaged arm and pulled him next to his side. Shaking and scared, he stayed still, not wanting to upset him and get hurt.

What about the collar? If I leave the parameter of the bar I get shocked!

It was then that he noticed Shigaraki holding the controller for his collar and his blood ran cold. 

The next thing he knew he was walked through the portal at Shigaraki's side and was standing on unfamiliar ground. His bandaged feet stood on that of concrete and not hard wood.

Still, he kept his eyes on the ground, making himself look as small as possible. He gripped the dagger so hard his nails dig into his palms.

From the corner of his eyes Kurogiri's portal expanded and villains and thugs came out. 

As stiff as a board he kept his eyes glued to the ground and the knife in his hands. It reflected his gaze back at him and when he looked he was even more scared.

____________________________________

Shouta watched Thirteen finish their sentence and get their applause but immediately after a sick tension filled his body and the air grew colder.

He turned around just in time to see a purple portal open at the base of the fountain that lay in the center of the plaza at the bottom of the stairs. His body grew stiff with primal fear as he watched hoards upon hoards of villains come out of it.

"Hey is the training starting," Kirishima said as he took a step forward.

"Stay back!" Shouta ordered and all the students looked to him. "This isn't part of the training. Those are real villains."

He scanned the crowd of villains until his eyes landed on the back of them. One wore complete black with disembodied hands covering his limbs and face. He had silver hair and stood next to hulking beast with black skin and a yellow beak. Behind him stood the warp villain that brought them there. 

He was purple... and had.. yellow eyes. Shouta's blood ran colder.

The silver haired villain had his hands gripping something through the portal, to which Shouta watched him give a great tug. Then he saw what he was grasping. A boy.

Shouta stopped breathing.

The boy was covered in dirty blood stained bandages, all the way down his arms and covering his hands and all the way down his legs where they wrapped around bare feet. He kept his head down but Shouta saw the mask on his face. His hair was long and looked like a rats nest, it was almost completely black but the shine of green was visible in the light. In his hands was a gleaming dagger to which he held on like a life support. A thick black collar wrapped tightly around his neck with a slim device on the side of it.

His shirt.

That was Shouta's old shirt.

A black band t-shirt that was covered in blood grim and grease. It still looked multiple sizes too big and draped over his skin like a blanket, covering his thin skeletal form. His shorts fit better than they did before but still went down to his knees.

It was him.

Shaking and scared stood Izuku Midoriya. The little boy who'd been kidnapped straight from his home.

"All Might was supposed to be here, but I don't see him. Was the schedule wrong?" The hand villain said and brought Shouta's attention back to him.

Then it clicked for Shouta, the press from that morning. It was a diversion to sneak onto campus.

"Thirteen, protect the students!" He shouted. Before he could think twice, he leapt into action and into the fray. 

He attacked them a few at a time, any of them that came close. As he fought he kept a close eye on the boy. He tried making himself look smaller and at some point his head went slightly up so he could see what he was doing.

Shouta could see from the corner of his eye as he fought. Dark circles under his eyes were as shiny as bruises. Small cuts on the side of his face that were still healing. Wide dark green eyes that shone brightly with fear. 

Focus on fighting, think later.

He blinked but the minute he did, the warp villain was gone and screams came from the entrance. He tried getting back up there but more thugs blocked his path.

Forced to keep fighting, he took down each villain one by one. His students had been scattered and he wasn't there to protect them. The villains were here for All Might but he wasn't in class.

"You really are cool, Eraserhead. But don't you think you're a little outmatched? You work better in stealth missions. But you're useless against a group. As useless as a Quirkless child," Shigaraki laughed. The boy next to him flinched at his words.

Finally the last thug fell and bodies lay scattered across the ground, but instead of a feeling of victory, he had a feeling of forbidding. 

Shigaraki leaned down a whispered something into the boy's ear and Shouta saw the look of absolute horror in is eyes. Shouta panted in exhaustion as he look at the boy.

The greenette stared at Shigaraki's hands, to which Shouta just realized in one hand he held a slim object. It looked like a remote. His eyes went back to the black collar around Izuku's neck, the small device on the side looking much more threatening.

He turned back to Shouta with hesitation. "Go you brat!" Shigaraki yelled. 

Izuku jumped up and clenched his jaw shut, then ran at him. His feet were light and he avoided the unconscious bodies of the thugs with eased practice. The knife gleamed in the light as he skipped. 

Shouta never thought he'd have to fight a child. Especially not one that looked so pale and thin and hurt. Even if he moved quickly and lightly, there was pain on his face with each movement that he seemed to try and ignore.

Trying as hard as possible not to hurt him, he dodged the knife when it got close. He used his Quirk on Izuku on instinct but of course it had no effect on him. Tears pricked the sides of his eyes as he swung. "Hey." Shouta said as softly as he could.

He couldn't use his Capture weapon to throw him, he was already injured as he was. Shouta could try to use it to bind him but he was too close for him to reach up for it anyway.

Izuku ignored his calling and kept swinging, the pain evident on his face.

"Hey!" Shouta said again as he dodged.

The knife grazed Shouta's cheek and he felt the blood rush down his right cheek. He grabbed Izuku's wrist firmly and the first thing he noticed was the feeling of scars from under the bandages.

Izuku's other hand immediately punched him in the shoulder. It wasn't hard enough to hurt, it was rather weak. But was enough to push him back and let go of him.

"Hey!" Shouta said more firmly.

Izuku still didn't stop. He seemed to be getting more and more frantic in his attacks as if he had a time limit, but he still was able to avoid the bodies of the villains without even looking.

Shouta managed to put enough distance between himself and the boy, he reached up and gripped his scarf. Throwing the cloth around his wrists he pulled it tight. "Izuku!" He shouted. 

The dagger fell from his hand and clanked against the ground as it skidded away.

Tears finally fell from Izuku's eyes but he didn't make a sound. Shouta pulled the scarf taut and towards himself. The boy was brought forward with it and into Shouta's open arms. 

He held the boy tightly in a hug as he felt him shake. Whether it was out of fear or his crying, he couldn't tell. Shouta could trace the scars on Izuku's body and he kneeled down to hold him tighter. Bandages could be felt under his shirt and around his torso. 

"Izuku," Shouta said softly. "It's okay. You're okay."

Izuku's body grew weak and he pulled away enough to see his face. Shouta pulled the mask off to reveal his pale and sickly face. Freckles dotted his cheeks like constellations and a large bruise sat purple at his jaw. More small cuts were on his cheek as if he had fallen on glass.

Fat baby tears rolled down his face and Shouta lowered his goggles to look at him more clearly. He held his tied wrists in case he tried to do something.

Now that the adrenaline was wearing out of the boy's body, he looked more frail and weaker. Putting a hand to his forehead, he noticed he was burning with fever. Why was he so sick?

"You failed the test, brat," Shigaraki's voice spoke.

He could feel Izuku's body grow stiff and still. Without removing Izuku's bonds, he pushed himself in front of him as a shield to protect him. Shigaraki held the object in his hand up with his finger from the other hand on a button. 

Immediately after he pressed it, Shouta turned around in time to catch Izuku falling. He spasmed continuously in his arms with his eyes rolled back into his head. "Izuku!"

It only lasted a few seconds.

There was no scream or noise other than ragged breathing as the shock finally left and Izuku fell unconscious. "This is what you get for failing," Shigaraki laughed. "Nomu, finish off what the brat couldn't." 

The "Nomu" at his side immediately perked its head up at the order, finally able to do something. Shouta jumped back, the boy in his arms all too light, and set him down at the side of the field. He jumped back into the fight just as the warp gate villain appeared next to Shigaraki.

"Tomura Shigaraki," He spoke.

"Kurogiri, did you manage to kill Thirteen?"

"The rescue hero is out of commission, but there were students I was unable to disperse and one of them got out of the facility."

Anger ever so present on his face, he scratched at his neck, "Kurogiri. You fool. If you weren't out warp gate, I'd tear apart every last atom in your body!"

Shouta was too busy fighting the Nomu that he couldn't listen in better to hear Kurogiri's reply. Already weak and tired from fighting, he slipped up on dodging and the Nomu crushed him. 

He let out a pained yell as his arm was bent back and snapped. Blood seeped out of his body and everything was going hazy. A ringing was set in his ears but he saw Shigaraki sprint towards the water where he saw two of his students, Kirishima and Asui.

Hand outstretched towards Asui's face, he used his Quirk. It hurt so bad but he persevered. 

"You really are so cool, Eraserhead."

The Nomu bashed his head into the concrete and he felt his strength involuntarily slip away.


	5. Cry for Help

Kurogiri doesn't know what to think about what had happened. Sure, he'd been expecting Eraserhead to overpower the boy, but not by hugging him. The boy's wrists were tied together as tightly as the hero dared and he sat off to the side of the plaza with his back facing him.

There wouldn't be much time left until the heroes' reinforcements came and they would be defeated. The boy had failed his test in being able to kill someone. They had told him it was either him or Nomu that would do it, and like they excepted, he failed.

No matter, it would just take some more time. But what he found perplexing was that the boy wasn't using his analysis skills during the fight. Just blindly swinging. 

Maybe failure was the plan?

He would have to figure that out later. Quickly walking over to the boy's crumpled form, he scooped him up and walked back to Shigaraki, who was trying to harm the students that had been watching from the water.

A crash rang throughout the facility as the front doors were suddenly crashed through. Kurogiri looked over and saw All Might standing there in his glory, except he wasn't smiling. 

They might just win this after all.

Nomu perked it's head up and saw it's main target. He got off the Eraser hero and leapt into battle. The two of them were so fast that Kurogiri couldn't even see them.

Shigaraki backed off from trying to kill the two students and instead started bragging about Nomu. 

Kurogiri stood there awaiting Shigaraki's order to take them all home as he pondered if he should take the restraints off Izuku. It would make it easier to carry him. They should expect resistance from him now that he's been outside.

It was only a matter of time before they left.

_____________________________________________

Izuku stirred awake.

Electricity coursed through his body as it lingered. The collar always had a way of feeling tighter after it shocked him. 

He tried moving his arms but found them tied togethe-

Oh right. 

Eraserhead tied him up so he wouldn't hurt him. Izuku opened his eyes to see Kurogiri's purple mist feet. The man was watching Shigaraki. Looking around, Izuku saw the hero on the ground and two blurs fighting. 

They pulled away and Izuku's eyes widened in fear.

All Might was fighting the Nomu. The Nomu was made after Izuku's analysis, he could tell from the way it moved. His eyes traced the structure of the large man in the white button up shirt. He was injured. Just like Izuku analyzed, except it was more noticeable to him in person and not just on a television screen.

His gaze went back to Nomu, it's razor sharp claws and pointed beak with pointed teeth. It's hulking body and scarred back. Made to kill, and if it was like how Izuku was thinking, it could tell All Might was injured too.

He wasn't blind, he saw that the number one hero wasn't as fast as he used to be. He had to do something. 

Anything.

"RUN!" Izuku screamed as loud as he could in a scratchy voice. His throat burned like molten hot lead. This was the first word he's spoken in years and it showed.

All Mights head turned to him and his eyes widened.

Izuku tried to speak again, to get the message across to the hero, but all that came out was a hoarse pitiful cry. He tried crawling but Shigaraki's hand pressed down on his back with four fingers.

Desperation painted his face and All Might barely had time to move towards him before the Nomu came at him again. 

"So the pet finally talks, huh?" Shigaraki hissed. "About time. I was starting to get bored with you."

Tears fell down his cheeks and he let out a pitiful wimpier. He was too weak to fight off Shigaraki. 

Eraserhead moved and Izuku looked over, he saw the hero trying to move. His arm was broken and his face was covered in blood. Shigaraki didn't seem to notice.

Izuku was starting to feel the major backlash of screaming. He started coughing and hacking like he was throwing up his lungs and it burned. It felt like it throat had been ripped apart from the inside and he could distantly taste the blood on the top of his tongue.

He tried mouthing words to Eraserhead.

I'm sorry.

I'm so sorry.

Please go. Please run.

The hero seemed to understand him but wouldn't accept it. He was trying to crawl over to him after watching Shigaraki turn his back to watch All Might fight Nomu.

Izuku felt so weak at that moment. 

His whole body burned and his throat felt destroyed, his stomach was trying to crawl it's way out of his mouth and his legs were numb. His forehead was matted with sweat that fell into his eyes but he couldn't rub them because of his tied wrists. He vaguely thought about the punishment that would come after all of this and shuddered. 

Before he knew it the hero was at his side, trying to stay out of Shigaraki and Kurogiri's view. But the moment he laid a hand on Izuku, Shigaraki turned back and pure hatred followed. 

Eraserhead stood on wobbly feet. His head was covered in blood and his goggles were gone, his arm fell limp at his side after being brutally broken.

"You," Shigaraki hissed. "You're the cheater! You made him stop fighting!" He lunged at Eraserhead as the man ducked out of the way. How he was still standing was a gamble. Still, he punched Shigaraki with as much strength as he could put into it and the man fell back.

The hand on his face fell off and he froze. "Father," He whispered.

Kurogiri left Shigaraki's side to help Nomu with his fight and Izuku could hear All Might struggling between his warp gates and the sounds of the students fighting but his focus wasn't on that at the moment. 

The man's words seemed to stump Eraserhead for a moment but he quickly recovered. Shigaraki lunged once more, quicker than before, and time seemed to slow.

Loud bangs could be heard from not far away but we're muffled in his mind. The Nomu and All Might trading blows that sent air back at their faces and ruffled Izuku's long hair. He watched the villain near the heroes' face with an outstretched hand. Izuku's eyes widened with horror as he envisioned the dust falling to the ground in a heap only to be kicked away afterward, Shigaraki's smile forever engraved into his mind. 

Then a loud explosion echoed throughout the facility and shook the ground. The three of them stopped and looked back over at All Might to see him standing there in triumph, his fist raised in the air as the Nomu flew away and became a speck in the sky. Izuku could've sworn that he'd cried in relief, that was before he saw the blood on the heroes' shirt.

His injury. 

That must be where it was.

Shigaraki started throwing a fit, but none of the words the man was hissing registered in his mind at that point other than the terror that he knew where All Might was hurt. If he knew, then the league could find out too. 

Eraserhead didn't seem to notice how bad it was and before he could even take a step, Shigaraki punched him in the head so hard he fell to the ground. Added with his other injuries, it wasn't a surprise it knocked him out.

He lay on the ground, feet away, still and unmoving.

Kurogiri picked up the downed hand from the ground and gave it back to a raging Shigaraki. 

All Might put his fist down and stood there, placing his ground. "What? Are you scared?" He said. The man stood in a plum of smoke, his eyes boring into Shigaraki. The more Izuku looked, the more the smoke seemed to be coming from All Might's body.

Kurogiri seemed to notice it too and that scared him, it scared him that the warp villain could tell that it was an act. All Might was stalling.

Shigaraki seemed to fall for it, though, and started scratching furiously at his neck. "If only Nomu was here. He'd rush you right now. Pound you into the ground without giving it a second thought."

"Tomura Shigaraki," Kurogiri leaned forward. "Please, do not fret. Look at him, he has definitely weakened. Nomu's attacks were successful."

He stopped scratching his neck and looked back up and then down at Izuku. 

"He's on his own. The children seem to be frozen in fear. And look, our underlings are recovering. We likely have a few minutes before their reinforcements arrive. If we work together we can do this. We haven't missed our chance to kill All Might!"

Izuku's mind was going miles an hour with thoughts, solutions, and ideas. Fighting Shigaraki or Kurogiri was a dumb idea, he couldn't even move enough to try anything anyway. Speaking wouldn't work, his vocal cords were damaged to the point he was almost completely mute. He could try to mouth something to All Might, but his focus was on Shigaraki, not Izuku. His dagger was a few feet away, but too far to get to without attracting Kurogiri's attention.

"Yeah. Yeah, you're right. This is it, we have no choice. We have to do it now. I mean, the big end boss is right here. We could break him right now," Shigaraki said.

Before Izuku had the chance to squirm or struggle, Shigaraki reached a hand down towards Eraserhead. Five fingers outstretched to complete what was interrupted earlier. Izuku clenched his teeth tightly as tears ran free down his cheeks.

The image of one of the only people who'd ever been kind to him before crossed his mind. The picture of his disintegrating into nothing but dust and flakes of flesh to be blown away-

Then the bang from a gun rang throughout the room and Shigaraki reeled back in both surprise and pain.

Blood fell from his hand as he held it. Snipe stood at the top of the stairs with his gun out as he quickly reloaded and shot his weapon, the bullets flying in different directions.

"Ah man, the pros are here. It's game over for real. Let's go home and try this when we get-" A bullet rammed into his arm and two more into each of his legs.

Izuku tried to crawl away in alarm, fear coursing through his body but before he could, Kurogiri's mist went around him and Shigaraki, blocking out more bullets. He tried reaching his tied wrists out for help, for anyone to save him. Terror drawn onto his face like a cruel art piece.

Thirteen started using their Quirk to suck up the mist but it wasn't working fast enough. They would soon be gone.

He mouthed his last parting words with the number one hero, who stood there in shock and confusion.

Help me!

And just like that, he was swallowed by darkness and pain followed.

_____________________________________________

Shouta woke up to the intoxicating and disgusting smell of disinfectant and the sterol scent of a hospital. For a moment he didn't know how or why he was there. He stared up at the pale white ceiling through thick bandages thinking about it.

Then it came crashing down on him.

He lurched forward and looked around in a frenzy. That villain, Shigaraki, he'd knocked him out. Surely more heroes arrived and his students were safe. All Might has been there and defeated that monster. 

Surely everyone was okay. 

Izuku.

Shouta started trying to get up, he had to find Izuku. The villains had him, but All Might wouldn't let them get away with the boy, right? Where was he? Was he in the same hospital as him? How hurt was he? He should be in the hospital with the kind of wounds he had. The boy was covered head to toe in bandages, he was obviously hurt.

Doctors heard his heart monitor pick up frantically and came running in. They pushed him back down on the bed, telling him to calm down.

He couldn't calm down, a child was hurt.

His voice felt like sandpaper but he tried to speak anyway, "Izuku. Where is he? Is he okay?"

The doctors seemed concerned and puzzled, as if they had a right to be confused. Izuku was probably scared and alone right now and needed a familiar face, even though it was wrapped in bandages.

"Sir. Sir, you need to calm down. Just relax, okay? Calm down," They weren't answering him.

Izuku was tied up and sick the last time he saw him. He definitely had a high fever and was bleeding, where was he? Could he see him soon?

His inner questions went unanswered as the doctors forced him to calm down and lay against the bed. They gave him some water and he gradually grew more and more tired.

Shouta's energy has been sapped so quickly that he felt weak. 

Izuku.

I hope you're okay.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yo!  
> So this is this weeks chapter!  
> It could've had a better flow to it but I think it's as good as it can get.  
> I would've rewritten it to get it have a better flow but I have to stay true to the time marks in the show ƪ(˘⌣˘)ʃ  
> Anyway, I made the ending very angsty for you, so I hope you liked that.  
> I'll see you guys next Sunday!  
> Thanks for reading!  
> Bye!  
> ~Care-chan


	6. Doctor's Visit

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Izuku misbehaved and disobeyed direct orders. Shigaraki and All for One decide a punishment is in order for this.

Izuku groggily opened his eyes to be met with dim darkness. Not the same darkness of his cell, though. His cell had a particular type of darkness that made his feel the smallest amount of comfort until Shigaraki came to destroy it.

No.

This wasn't his cell. 

He was on the ground of a cage stacked up on other cages against the wall of a long hallway. It was small and he just barely fit inside. It was big enough for him to lay down curled up and just tall enough that he could sit up. A dog cage with an enforced lock on it.

There were empty cages across from him against the other wall but he wasn't sure if he was the only one there.

His head pounded once more but it wasn't from his fever. A nasty bump at the back of his head throbbed with pain from when Shigaraki bashed his head into the floor of the bar after they got back.

Shigaraki was bleeding from his wounds and a part of Izuku felt a satisfaction from the man's suffering. But it was quickly put out after he'd looked at Izuku with a look of pure hate. Izuku's hands were still bound and his fever was yet to be broken. His whole body already felt weak, especially after the collar shocked him, his own wounds ached and moving was difficult. 

So when Shigaraki came at him, bleeding and angry, he couldn't fight back.

Now he sat in the small cage.

Another thing different was that someone had changed his clothes while he was knocked out. Now he wore a worn out short sleeved hospital gown that had a few dirt splotches on the chest. Either it was dirt or blood, he didn't know. It was itchy and didn't protect him from the chill, but he was used to that. 

An emptiness on his neck caused him to bring his hand up and instead of feeling the tight collar around his nape, it was free and light.

The collar was gone.

A new layer of bandages had been wrapped around his wounds tightly, as if whoever did didn't really care about helping him.

Over the bandages of his left wrist was a paper bracelet. Izuku couldn't see what was written very well, but he saw a few numbers that were difficult to make out.

0056

What did they mean?

Did he really want to find out?

Fear began to surge through his body. He'd heard of Sensei talk about the doctor but he never actually seen him. Sensei always threatened to take him to see the doctor if he did anything that was bad.

Izuku failed his test, Shigaraki told him so. He didn't want to do it and he failed. 

He backed up to the far side of the cage, the metal pressed up behind him on his back. Gripping his hair tightly, he started trying to stay quiet. He couldn't let them know he was awake. What was going to happen to him?

The sound of a door opening echoed throughout the hallway and he stiffened. Footsteps drew closer to his cage and he pressed himself closer to the back. 

A person stopped in front of the door and looked in. Izuku could see green goggles around a bald head that shined even in the dim light. He wore a white lab coat and a button up shirt with a tie under it. The mustache on his lips was large and covered his mouth, but Izuku could still see the tale of a smile.

"Good morning, Izuku," He spoke in a chipper tone as he dug into his pockets and pulled out a silver key.

If Izuku could speak, he might've asked who the man was, despite knowing it was the doctor. He might've started cursing and swearing him out like a sailor in attempt to guard whatever dignity he had left.

But he couldn't speak so he remained silent and stiff, pressed up against the cold metal in the back of the cage.

"Not one for chit chat, are you?" The doctor asked as he unlocked the cage and opened the latch door. "I was told you haven't spoken in quite a while. That isn't good for your vocal cords, you know."

Izuku knew that, but it didn't mean he cared.

The doctor reached in his cage and pulled him further out by the legs. Izuku let out a whimper when he grabbed him under his arms and pulled him out the rest of the way. Setting him down on his feet, Izuku wobbled for balance.

His head still pounded like a drum and his feet were still achy from the cuts. Fighting Eraserhead wasn't all that good for his healing.

Who would've thought?

Putting a hand on Izuku's shoulder, the doctor started guiding Izuku down the hall as he stumbled. Cages like the one he was just in lined the walls with blank clip boards in the front, most were empty, but he could still see a few of them that had people in them. Much older people.

The clip boards were new, the one on his cage didn't have one. Either that or he was just too scared to notice. 

Izuku followed obediently, not wanting to make the situation worse for himself. Finally, they arrived to a sterol clean room with medical equipment lining the tables and counters. 

In the middle of the room lay a metal table with leather buckle straps for wrists and ankles. Dried blood sat uncleaned on the top and Izuku began to feel cold.

The doctor closed the door behind them and locked it. "Hold on, kid. I just have to clean this. I should've done so before coming to get you, my bad," He apologized but the tone held no remorse at all.

Izuku stood still as the man wiped down the table and cleaned the old blood off.

"Come over and sit down," He ordered. 

Taking hesitant steps over, he was lifted onto the top and sat there trying to look small. The doctor turned on the headlight that sat above the table and Izuku had to adjust to the bright light.

It made the shadows seem more prominent as the only spot it lit was the table. Once his eyes got used to it, Izuku could see more clearly.

The doctor looked familiar to him but for the life of him he couldn't figure out why. He certainly seemed to know Izuku, but that could've just been from Sensei.

He began unwrapping Izuku's bandages on his legs to reveal healing lacerations. The skin around the cuts were still slightly pink and some of the bad ones had been treated more excessively while he was unconscious.

Some of the really bad ones were stitched up lazily and closing up to later scar. It was enough to help but it still hurt.

"Those seem to be getting better!" The doctor said. "You were under for a while, nearly a week, so I had some time to treat these before your real session. Shigaraki gave you a concussion which mixed with your fever, so I had to keep you asleep until it was at least a little better, which wasn't fun at all."

Izuku tried not to look as bothered by that as he felt.

The doctor left the bandages off, replacing some of them with gauze where it was really bad and then moved to his feet. He actually rewrapped them with clean bandages, which was surprising.

This continued on with the rest of Izuku's injuries. Him sitting still as the doctor assessed him, the stab wound under his stomach was healing apparently, but was still rewrapped. He kept his gaze on the ground as he played with the hem of the hospital gown.

"Open up your mouth," He said.

Confused, Izuku complied. The doctor took out a flashlight and shined it down his throat as he put a stick on his tongue to keep it down. "Try talking. Say your name."

Izuku tried, he really did, but all that came out was a scratched up gargling noise.

He wasn't told why the doctor asked, or why he looked like he'd made a connection. He closed his mouth when the doctor put the flashlight away and bit his lip anxiously.

"Your throat is very damaged," He said. Well, thanks for stating the obvious. "But it shouldn't hinder us too bad."

Finally, the doctor took a step back and looked at Izuku up and down. "Alrighty, lets get started!" 

He pushed Izuku down on his back and moved him so his limbs were by the straps. At first Izuku started struggling, but the doctor seemed well experienced with strugglers and had no problem getting his wrists in the buckles.

Panic surged through his body as he was completely restrained. He continued to struggle until the doctor leaned close. 

"The more you keep moving, the more likely I'll have to use the special drug on you. So lay still and try to relax."

Relax?

How could Izuku relax?

He was literally tied down to a metal table and was completely vulnerable. His breathing was ragged and his stitches felt tighter. 

"I'm just going to," The doctor mumbled as he went out of his vision for a moment and then came back and stuck a syringe into his neck. It took a moment, but eventually Izuku couldn't move his arms, and then was followed by him not being able to move his legs. He could still feel the pain in them, like his chafed wrists and cut feet.

No longer struggling, the doctor smiled. "It still works!" He said happily. "I had to remake it after using it all and I wasn't sure the new batch was effective. Guess I worried for nothing!"

Izuku was panicking trying to move but he stopped once the doctor pulled out a scalpel. His blood ran cold with the next words. "We're going to have so much fun~."

___________________________________________

It was about two hours later (he guessed) that Izuku found himself being carted down the same hallway lined with cages. He was covered in his own blood that hadn't even been cleaned off as his wounds were messily bandaged.

The restraints had been taken off and he was starting to feel he could move his toes and fingers slowly.

Every inch of his body burned like fire ants and he was having trouble trying not to cry. The cart finally stopped and Izuku followed the doctors hands with weary eyes. He was pulling his keys out again and unlocking one of the cages. 

Izuku then noticed the clip board right next to the cage door. So there was one there after all. He couldn't see it very well thanks to the dim light and his fogged brain, but he could swear he saw his name and age.

The doctor opened the cage all the way and came back to Izuku's side where he picked him up and laid him in. The door closed and the lock was pushed into place.

Foot steps retreated down the hallway and Izuku laid there. A part of him missed Kurogiri, he was the only one who showed him kindness. He wondered if he'll ever see him again.

It wasn't for another hour that Izuku could move his body again. He curled up against the side of the cage and started to silently cry.

He just wanted this Hell to be over.

"Hey, kid," A deep voice broke him out of his thoughts. It was raspy and no more than a whisper. "You new?"

Izuku hates that he couldn't reply. 

"I heard Doc say you haven't spoken in a while. Can ya speak?" The voice spoke again.

It sounded like it was coming from a cage across from him. Izuku looked and saw in the dim light of the hallway was a young man. The cages on the other side were larger as if to fit older people. 

The young man had a black buzz cut and a tattered hospital gown much like his own. His face had a few scars on it like one through his left eyebrow and down his eye. His right lip had a scar that stopped just above his chin. Despite how intimidating he looked with his slightly muscled biceps, he carried an aura of carefulness, as if scared he'd spook Izuku.

"Did you hear me? Can ya speak?" He asked again softly. 

Izuku slowly shook his head, trying not to disturb his healing concussion. 

The young man nodded sadly and smiled at him, although it looked pained and forced. "My names Osachi Kae. But you can call me Osachi. I heard the doctor call ya Izuku. Is that your name? It's written on your board."

The kindness that Osachi was showing him was tempting. So tempting. Maybe having a friend here would make things better?

He nodded his head slowly and then pointed to the board outside of his cage. "You want to know what's on it?" Osachi asked.

Izuku nodded again.

Osachi leaned forward and squinted his eyes to see better. "It says your name is Izuku Midoriya. You're fifteen. You're birthday is hard to read, it's smaller. And you're... Quirkless."

Oh no. Here it comes. Izuku remembers how people would treat him back when he was on the streets. It wasn't ideal and he'd rather take that kind of treatment over the League any day but it still hurt. He closed his eyes and waited for the harsh words.

"Hey, hey. It's okay. I'm sorry. Did I say somethin' wrong?" Osachi spoke softly like he was a frightened animal. Izuku opened his eyes to see the man with a concerned face. "Did ya think I was gonna be mean? No way."

Despite himself, Izuku relaxed at that.

"But mind me askin' why they would want a Quirkless kid? As far as I know, you're the youngest one here and the first one that's Quirkless. I mean, even I have a weak nullification Quirk." 

Izuku couldn't respond with words so he jabbed a finger at his chest and put a thumbs down. 

"What does that mean?"

He jabbed a finger at himself three times. "You?" Osachi asked. Izuku nodded and then put another thumbs down while slowly shaking his head. "No? Hold on, let me try and figure this out."

Izuku shifted down that he was w-sitting with his feet next to him. He waited patiently for Osachi to figure out what he meant.

"Ah this is like playing charades in the dark, oh wait that's exactly what this is." Izuku couldn't help but smile softly at that. "Bad? Did you mean bad?" He asked. 

Looking down at his lap he nodded. 

"You were bad?

Izuku nodded again.

"As in... you tried doing something they didn't want you to or... you didn't do something they wanted you to?" 

Another nod.

"So now you're here... as a punishment?"

Another nod.

"Thats... so fucked up," Osachi ran a bandaged hand over his head and sighed.

Izuku looked up and looked to the clip board on the side of the man's cage. It said his name and Quirk as well as his age. He was twenty nine.

"Do ya.. do ya wanna know why I'm here?" He asked.

He shrugged. 

"I used to be a drug dealer. Got into a fight. I beat the guy thanks to my Quirk but then this guy came and warped me here before I could even say 'stop'. Been here for a few years. There haven't been a lot of people here but there have been others. There was this one guy who was in the cage next to me... he had a similar Quirk as mine. He used to be in a fight club," Osachi explained. "He was a good guy. But they took him a while back and I haven't seen him since."

Osachi must've seen the look of horror on Izuku's face because he leaned forward with concern, "Midoriya? Hey, hey kid. What's wrong? Do you know what they did to him? What happened to him?"

Izuku couldn't figure out how to gesture it as he started crying again and his hands were shaking. He mouthed the words instead.

Gone

He's gone

The look was then mirrored on Osachi's face as he fell back against the back of his cage. He was as white as a sheet and trying to take deep breaths. "He's dead?"

Tears fell from Izuku's cheeks as he tried to get them to stop. He nodded again and leaned against the side of his own cage while wiping his eyes with the heel of his bandaged wrists. "Oh god. Oh my god."

Realization must have hit the other man hard as he had a terrified look on his face as he looked back up at Izuku, pale as a ghost, and said, "I'm gonna die here."

_____________________________________________

"So the boy was there unwillingly?" 

Nezu sat at the conference table with a tone of pure authority despite his small stature. 

"Yes," Toshinori replied. "He tried telling me to run away from that Nomu guy." He hadn't been able to get that boy's look out of his mind. He looked absolutely petrified, as if begging for someone to save him.

Toshinori would be damned if he didn't.

Nezu made a humming noise of affirmation and looked down at his paws. "What was the physical state of the boy when you saw him, Aizawa?" 

The man in question say up straighter in his seat despite still being covered in bandages. His body wasn't as injured as they thought and he had only suffered from one broken arm and a dislocated shoulder. He had a concussion and his Quirk wouldn't be the same but he would live. The Nomu hadn't been able to fight him long since All Might got there but he still wised he could've been faster.

"He wore dirty rags and was covered head to toe in bloody bandages. Even on his feet. His hair was long and dirty, looked like he hadn't had a bath in a while. I was able to grab him for a few moments. He was... very thin. He also looked like he had a high fever."

A look of deep thought found its way onto Nezu's face as his brows furrowed. "And you said that he knew how to fight with a dagger?" 

After a nod from Aizawa, Nezu looked down at his paws again.

"It seems like there is someone who needs to be saved. And quickly too. If the boy is truly there against his will, who knows what will happen to him for disobeying."

Toshinori could not agree more.


	7. Run for Me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The door has been left open, but what would the consequences be for leaving?

To say Izuku was exhausted was the understatement of the century. He was exhausted, in pain, and freezing. He lay on the metal table, buckles around his wrists and ankles (he'd learned not to fight back) as he tried not to cry.

It has been weeks since this started and every moment hurt like it was the first time. The wound on his stomach was healed and scared over along with his feet. A scalpel dug into his flesh and crimson drops of blood dripped down onto the metal beneath him. He didn't know why the doctor was doing this or what he was looking for but sometimes he would say out loud what he was doing. 

It sounded like the doctor was preparing him for something. 

His hand traced over Izuku's scarred skin as if he was feeling a masterpiece. It sent chills down his spine and he wished so desperately to swat the hand away. It traced his stomach and legs as the scalpel brushed his flesh, not hard enough to break skin yet, but hard enough to hurt. 

As if looking for a good spot.

Izuku stared up into the overhead light above him and dissociated, distancing himself from reality to keep what was left of the little sanity he had.

He was vaguely aware that the doctor put an IV into his arm, allowing a strange substance to go into his veins. It started with a shiver, a cold rush down his spine, and then exploded into pain. Unfiltered and undeterred pain.

Everything in his vision went white as he tried not to pass out. The increasing urge to scream flooded his mind like a tsunami and blocked out any and all thoughts, but he kept his jaw locked shut, not wanting to give the doctor the pleasure in his agony.

He was sure screaming would only hurt his throat even more.

Soon it dialed down to a more manageable level of pain where he could begin to think again. 

"Well that was quite the show, kiddo!" The doctor said.

The ringing in his ears made it harder to hear but the words still became clear to him. He turned his head to the side and saw the doctor smiling under his mustache.

"I just wanted to see if your body was ready." Ready? Ready for what? "I think that's enough for today."

The doctor moved behind the table and started carting him out of the room. To his relief, they were heading back to the cages, where he wouldn't have to be with the doctor and he could be alone with Osachi. 

He was still restrained to the table, seeing as he probably couldn't walk far. He was weak and injured.

Izuku whimpered softly as the wheels screeched and the table jumped after going over a crack in the floor, jostling his wounds. The doctor looked down at him through green tinted goggles and smiled. "Don't worry, Izuku-kun. Everything will be fine." He didn't believe him.

Don't trust him.

"You're ready to see Sensei, now. All preparations I hade to make have been completed and you successfully survived each procedure. We'll just have to see if you'll survive getting a Quirk."

His blood ran cold, and without realizing, he started shaking in fear. They rolled up to Izuku's cage and the doctor moved to open it. "It will have to be tomorrow morning, though. It's getting rather late and I doubt Sensei would want to do this at this time of night."

The doctor scooped him up and put him back in the cage without another word, and after closing the door a buzzing was heard. 

It caused Izuku to flinch and his eyes went to the doctor's face. He was pulling out what looked like a phone from his pocket as his brow furrowed in confusion. The doctor put the phone up to his ear after he pressed a button.

"Yes, Tomura?" 

Oh, it's Shigaraki. 

"Now?" The doctor spoke on the phone. There was a moment of silence where he stared off until he sighed in slight frustration. "Fine, I'll be there soon. Have Kurogiri open a portal for me."

The doctor walked off without looking back at him and Izuku was finally left alone.

"Are you okay?" He heard Osachi whisper. 

He didn't think of replying, the only thing on his mind at the moment was that in the morning he would see Sensei. The thought terrified him to his core. The man had an incredibly strong presence with an aura of pure darkness that was coated with an act of nurture. 

Sensei didn't care about him, all he cared about was his goal in beating All Might and ending the chain of One for All. 

Izuku has been told the tale of the Quirk many times by the man in his time spent with him.

He didn't know what to think about that, though. That a Quirk could be passed on and inherited. It sounded like nonsense when he first heard it, but Sensei wasn't the type of person to speak nonsense. Sure, he lied a lot and bent the truth and manipulated but there was always a truth in his lies, no matter how small. That was what made his manipulation so strong.

So when he heard the Quirk All Might had was meant to beat him, it made him feel many different things. The analyst in him wanted to ask questions about it. Could it be given to someone without a Quirk factor? Was it an emitter type Quirk? If it was given to someone with a mutation Quirk; is the next user able to use that mutation? But then he remembered who he was talking to and kept his mouth shut.

This was something that All Might and Sensei has to deal with. It didn't involve Izuku whatsoever.

"Izuku-kun?" Osachi asked. They decided to drop formalities and had began speaking on a first name bases. They were both trapped together so it didn't matter either way. The people in the other cages were more or less quiet and just like to listen to their one sided conversations, since Izuku couldn't speak.

There was an old man a few cages down that Izuku never caught the name of. He was kind, most of the time, and have his input sometimes when he thought it was needed, but most of the time he was quiet.

A few groans of pain could be heard once in a while, or complaints to Osachi for talking while they were trying to sleep. They understood and always quit their one sided chatter after that. Charades was a game they played most of the time. Izuku thinking of weird phrases and trying to act them out while the man guessed.

It was a small piece of comfort for them.

Izuku looked up his friend and saw him with a worried expression. "What was the monster talking about? Receiving a Quirk? What did he mean?"

Cold reality set on the boy once again as he realized once more that the people here are all here because of their Quirks and how they're going to be turned into Nomu. "You probably can't answer that. Sorry," Osachi said. As if he was at fault for anything. "Are you okay?"

He didn't want to lie so he just shook his head.

"I'd bet."

They sat in silence for a while. The man probably didn't know what to say at all. When he looked up at Izuku again his eyes paused and a look of confusion painted it. His gaze was cast at the lock to Izuku's cage door. 

Osachi's eyes widened in shock. "Izuku! Izuku, your cage! Your cage! It's still open!"

He whipped his eyes to the latch to his cage and found it still hanging cracked open lazily. The doctor had forgotten to lock it when he'd stormed off. 

It could be a trap. A test, like the USJ.

But the thought was so tempting. Knowing that there was a chance he could get out and escape. The doctor was off dealing with Shigaraki, but what if someone else finds him while he's trying to escape?

Is it worth it?

"Get out! Come on!" Osachi whispered in a haste. 

Osachi was an adult, someone good who had a semi-stable life before all of this. He wasn't golden but surely he knew what was best. 

Right?

Shifting in his cage he pushed the door open. It felt strange to have it open without the doctor being there to drag him away to his lab of Hell. He stuck his legs out first, feeling the cold draft of the air conditioning hitting his scarred bare feet. 

After pushing himself out he fell onto the ground unceremoniously. "Are you okay, Izuku-kun?"

He looked up and nodded. 

Izuku got up and brushed off the hospital gown he was wearing from the dirt that had gotten on it. He saw his arms, covered from shoulders to wrists in bandages. His legs in the same condition from upper thigh to ankles. The bandages were dirty and already bleeding through as he could see the slight dark red from under them. His limbs stung and were so soar that he contemplated getting back in the cage just to rest. 

But he had a mission to do.

Osachi's cage was still locked tightly and no matter how much he pulled at it, it wouldn't open. 

"Just go! I'll be fine, but you have to go! You have a chance to get help! Don't forget about me okay? Just bring help and get me out of here later!" The man whispered urgently. 

He really didn't want to leave him. What kind of person, let alone friend, would he be if he left him here to suffer at the hands of that monster? What was the right thing to do? Osachi's fingers curled around his in the dark. He tried not to flinch at the contact. His fingers were cold and bony from lack of warmth and meals, and his eyes met his gaze desperately. The man's face held hope and determination. "Go." 

Biting his quivering lip in frustration, he started running as fast as he could towards the door on the opposite side of the hallway. It was large and made of metal that stank of rust and old age. With all his strength, he pulled it open and was met with another hallway, except this one was more normal. 

It smelled like an office building, contradicting to sterol and dirt smell from the lab and caged hallway. The floor was made of white tiles instead of concrete and the walls were made of drywall. 

Izuku thought he looked out of place here as he closed the door and started running. His feet made a soft patting sound as they hit the tiles continually, his heart was hammering in his throat and his breaths came out as quick panting. Izuku's hair flew behind him and out of his face as he went, it had grown quite long after all these years and went down to his shoulder blades. 

The hospital gown stuck to his back as sweat rolled down his nape, he was losing his stamina quickly.

He had to find a way out. 

The halls were desolate and empty of other life and he more than once got scared that someone would come and take him from behind. 

Finally, he found a door with a staircase sign on the front and hoped this would take him to an exit out. They were easy to climb and soon enough he found himself in a new hallway. 

Chatter was heard from down the corridor and Izuku ducked behind a turn and waited for whoever it was to pass. Sighing a breath of relief, he started looking for a way out once more. It went on for minutes but it felt like an eternity with the thrum of his heart in his ears.

And then he found another door. 

Cold night air and rain hit his face.

___________________________________

Tenya Iida felt numb.

His bed, which was usually comfortable enough to sleep upon laying down, felt like rock as he stared at his ceiling. He couldn't feel his legs, but that was just because he'd been laying down for too long without moving. 

The sheets felt too hot but when he tried laying without them he was too cold. 

His mind was swarming with thoughts. Internships were coming up and he'd already chosen his name and the hero he wanted to intern with. 

It didn't matter anyway.

With his thoughts steadily darkening, he sat up in his bed and decided to go for a walk to clear his brain. Ururaka-san had been worrying over him, and while he appreciated the gesture, it was starting to get irritating how much she asked if he was okay. She'd started asking everyday ever since after the Sports Festival.

He didn't see the ending fight but he thinks he remembers Bakugo-kun being the one who took first place.

Arms as numb as his legs, he pulled on a proper shirt and a pair of pants and walked out the door. His body moved on autopilot down the street in the quiet of the neighborhood. 

Crickets were in the grass in front of his lawn making a racket of noise, but he found it calming. The air smelled like dew and rain water, puddles sat in the sewer drains at the curb that reflected the light of the street lamp. 

It must have rained earlier that night. 

His thoughts filled with Stain, how he'd attacked Tensei without a second thought and left him crippled and unable to continue hero work. 

How could he have done that? Tensei was an amazing hero who saved hundreds of lives. Internships were starting tomorrow and he'd be in Hosu. He could track down the hero killer and make him pay for what he'd done.

There was no other way, he had to regain Tensei's honor and make sure that Stain knew he'd made a mistake.

Tenya walked around for an hour, still plagued with his thoughts and his legs still on autopilot, before he made his way back home and went back to his room. The sun would come up in about three hours so at least he'd get a little sleep before being whisked away to Hosu.

What a horrible idea that had been.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello my friends!  
> How're you all doing this week?  
> I hope good!  
> So this chapter took a while for me to write, admittedly. I hope it turned out good cuz I had to reread it a lot.   
> But if there were any spelling mistakes that I somehow missed I'm sorry, please correct me.  
> Ima go work on my other stories now!   
> Thanks for reading!  
> Bye!  
> ~Ace-chan


	8. Stain vs the Boy in Bandages

Izuku ran through alleyways for the whole night. He was stuck in the maze like back alleys of the city. The rain had stopped earlier that night, leaving him cold, wet, and shaking. He didn't know where he was and it scared him. These weren't the alleys he remembered from when he was eight. 

The early days of his abandonment had been spent getting used to the streets and what the different parts of Musutafu looked like. He wasn't in Musutafu.

At some point Izuku tripped over his own feet and fell to the ground. He shifted mid fall to land on his shoulder to lessen impact and laid there. He was so so tired. There was a vague feeling of pain in his ankle, he must've sprained it when he tripped. 

What was he gonna do?

Familiar aching set into his bones the longer he laid there. It wouldn't be so bad to rest, right? 

Izuku's eyelids felt like lead and every blink made it harder to keep them open. Slowly sleep took him over and he was dragged back into the subconscious of his mind. When he opened his eyes again the sun was up and soft rays shone down past the rooftops of the buildings next to him.

He staggered to his feet only to stumble when he put pressure down on his ankle. It was definitely sprained. It didn't feel as bad as it could be so he'd give it about two weeks before it was fully healed, that is, if he rested it.

There was a dumpster a few feet away that had its lid open and Izuku limped over time the edge to peek in.

To his disappointment, there was nothing inside that could help him make a splint, but then something caught his eye. Behind the dumpster and a whole hoard of clothes. Shirts, pants, and a few blankets. Whoever put all this there was obviously coming back, but they wouldn't notice if something was missing, would they?

The clothes were damp from what he assumed was the rainfall last night and that was when he realized that the hospital gown he still wore was damp and cling to his skin. 

He didn't really want to take more than he needed, he already had the gown (even if it did make him feel uncomfortable) to wear. These were somebody else's things. Feeling a little more guilty, he took one of the t-shirts and sat against the wall of the alleyway. 

Izuku has never done this before and he didn't really know what to do, so he awkwardly wrapped his ankle with the large stretched out shirt to hold his ankle still in a standing position. The cold dampness did well against the swelling and Izuku relaxed at the slightly relieved pain. 

Now he had a new problem to deal with though. Izuku couldn't speak (he could if he worked his vocal muscles but that takes time he didn't have) and he didn't know JSL. He'd always just used writing to talk to people and that was usually just Kurogiri.

He didn't have his notebooks with him, so he couldn't write to ask for help. What he even say if he could? Hey, I'm sorry to bother you, but I just escaped being experimented on after years of cruel abuse and torture, while also leaving behind one of the only people who have ever been kind to me in favor of getting help. Do you think you could direct me in the right direction please? 

Yeah, no.

Taking a deep breath, he stood up again and tested his weight on his newly splinted foot. He couldn't put too much on it, or it would only stop the healing process, but he could walk, even if it was a limp.

The steps were treacherous and the pain was beginning to be agonizing as his other limbs still stung from unhealed lacerations. The back alleyways were like a labyrinth of tunnels and Izuku couldn't even begin to tell where he was. 

There were no people in sight to look to for directions (who was he kidding, he wouldn't even be able to ask if there was.)

He just hoped he could make it to a street soon. Osachi still needed help.

___________________________________

Tenya was bristling under his suit when he walked the streets of Hosu. His face had been controlled and calm, but his mind racing with thoughts, all fighting over priority. 

Manual had caught on to what he was planning and told him to think logically before doing something he would regret. What did he know?

He didn't know how Tenya felt. 

None of them did. 

Tenya soon regretted not listening to Manual when he could as the Hero Killer stood over him, eyes gleaming dangerously, blade hovering over his back. He couldn't move a muscle. It was like his body had given up on him.

"Perish," The villain seethed before bringing the blade down. 

He closed his eyes, waiting for death as he watched his life pass before his eyes. Thoughts of his classmates and friends, apologies to Tensei that he'd never get to say. He waited for the blinding white pain of the katana piercing his back.

But it never came.

Looking up he was met with the sight of the Hero Killer being pulled back by bandaged scrawny thin arms. The katana was pulled back with him as Stain turned to meet his offender, only to be met with the sight of short green haired boy. It was the same boy from the USJ.

He and his classmates had asked about who the strange boy next to the villain they had called Shigaraki Tomura was. The teachers had been pretty tight lipped, but inevitably, Midnight-sensei told them that he was a boy their age that had been forced into villainy after being kidnapped at a young age. No one could find out his whereabouts for years and plans of rescue were being made now that they knew he was still alive.

Now as Tenya looked on, he made sure to take in as much about the boy as he could. His teachers and the police would want to know, that is if they made it out of this alive.

The boy wore a dirty white hospital gown that was ripped up at the bottom hem. Dirtied white bandages covered his arms and legs with red blood seeping through. He was thin as a twig and didn't look very strong, but seemed to be quick on his feet, despite the sprained ankle he seemed to have. It was wrapped up in a dirty t-shirt. The boy's hair was long, about past his shoulders, and matted with grime and dirt. 

Sickly pale and thin cheeks with dotted freckles held an angry frown as he didn't let go of Stain's arm. Green eyes that looked haunted as the light dimmed in their depths. 

Tenya didn't need to be a rock scientist to tell that this boy was hurt.

"Hey! Get out of here! You're hurt, there isn't anything you can do!" Tenya shouted. The boy didn't even look in his direction, but let out a rasp as he tried to speak. Was he a mute?

"Who are you, boy? You aren't a hero," Stain seethed, but didn't notice as the greenette slipped of the knives out of his sheathes. The boy held it up in front of him defensively before giving Stain a large pull and throwing him aside with strength that Tenya didn't think he had and then running to his side. 

He fell over Tenya and reached into his pockets, feeling for something. Tenya stayed silent as he noticed the weight of his phone leaving his side and the sound of buttons being tapped on the screen. 

The boy (somehow) figures out his passcode and then did something in his contacts. He really hoped that he'd sent out a location for help. 

Finally he decided to speak as he saw his phone drop to the ground. "What do you think you're doing? Get out of here! This isn't your fight!" The boy looked at him with a hesitant and scared expression before standing and facing the Hero Killer, who stood a ways away and looked on curiously.

"Who are you? Some hospital run away?" Stain said as he approached. 

The boy held up the knife in a way that said he dad experience as his eyes narrowed, studying the man. 

"Can you even talk?" The man asked. 

He shrugged.

"You should get out of here now while you can. I don't like killing children, but I will if I have to," Stain spoke deeply. 

The boy held the knife up in response to the killer's threat and his eyes gleamed. 

"Then purge," He spoke. 

What followed was a blur of movement as both males clashed their blades together. Stain tried to use the boy's sprained ankle against him, but the boy jumped in time to get a slash on the man's arm. It wasn't a large cut, but it was deep enough to coat the knife in blood as Stain held the injury. The boy was clearly skilled with a knife. 

They circled each other in the narrow alleyway, Stain's face growing in interest, as the boy's eyes were narrowed and his mouth contorted into a scowl. 

"You're faster than you look, kid. I'll give you that. And even with an injured leg. Although, you look used to fighting while hurt," Stain said while eyeing the bandages, still soaked in blood from beneath.

The boy growled lowly, all previous gone in the face of the killer. 

"You won't leave, will you? You'll fight until you die, just to save these two fakes?" Stain seethed as he glanced in the direction of Tenya and Native, who lay against the wall of the alley next to him, staring at the two in both horror and frustration at the fact he couldn't move to stop what was happening.

Growling again as confirmation, the boy spread his feet into a guarding stance in front of Tenya and stopping the circling. 

"Maybe you are worth letting live," The man whispered to himself. 

He charged the boy once more, katana posed in attack, and the boy parried it before slipping behind stain and going to strike at his other arm, aiming for the artery. Stain flipped around faster than Tenya could look and cut the boy across the cheek. 

Blood coated the sword at the tip as the boy's cheek bled from the small cut. It did nothing to stop him though as he brought the knife down anyway and cut across Stain's chest. It wasn't deep enough to stop him. 

Stain quickly licked the blade and Tenya watched as the boy fell to the ground with a thud, the knife slipping out of his lax hand and hitting the cement with a clank. Desperation painted the boy's face as he watched Stain turn and walk towards Tenya and Native. The boy sent silent pleas, mouthing for him to stop but was never heard. 

And just before Stain could end Tenya's life, ice came spewing into the alleyway, freezing all its occupants and forcing the Hero killer away as an ice ramp pulled them towards the sender. 

"You should be glad you sent that you were in trouble, Iida-kun. You can be cryptic sometimes and if you had just sent your location I might not have known you needed help," Todoroki said as he can into the alley, waving his phone with the location app attached. 

Ice covered his left side and a red eye showed through. His one visible eye zeroed in on the other end of the alley. "I was almost too late."

"I wasn't the one who sent the message," Iida said as he looked at the newcomer, "It was him. He used my phone." Todoroki regarded him for a moment before looking to the boy in the hospital gown, most likely coming to the same conclusion as Tenya about the boy's identity. 

"I see," He said. "Help will be here soon, don't worry."

Stain's face lit up with recognition, "You're the second place winner of the Sports Festival."

"Yeah, and you're a killer who's murdered dozens of pro heroes and left many more disabled," He growled. "I think we got introductions down."

Tenya watched as the boy next to him moved his fingers, and then his legs, and was then able to move his whole body as he tugged on Todoroki's sleeve. Todoroki looked down at him curiously with a stone face as the boy pointed to his injured cheek and wiped a bit of blood off with his finger before licking it and pointing at Stain. Then he gestured to himself and then Tenya as well as Native. 

"He ingests blood and then is able to paralyze people?" Todoroki asked, somehow making sense of the game of charades he was playing. 

The boy nodded and stood up, facing the Hero killer, whose face was in surprise and amusement as he smirked from his sudden perch on a short ledge. "You're pretty smart kid. You figured out my Quirk. That's right, I can paralyze people when I ingest their blood, depending on blood type, I can hold them for different amounts of time."

Tenya shivered at his words, suddenly very concerned for his friend and now sudden ally. "Get out of here! This is my fight! I'll say it again, you don't need to do this, this is supposed to be my job, not yours. I inherited my brother's name, I should be the one to take him down."

"Really? Because I never saw that look on Ingenium's face before. If you really want to make your brother proud, stand up and become the hero he wanted you to be!" Todoroki said as he sent an ice attack towards Stain, which was swiftly dodged as another knife flew towards him and cut through the ice incasing Todoroki's left side, breaking it apart like the glass on a mirror as blood dribbled out.

Stain came closer in a flash to lick the blood off his cheek, but was pushed back as a flurry of fire covered Todoroki's left in what looked to be instinct. 

A katana that was falling from overhead the duel haired boy was snatched away by the strange boy, who held the knife that had been thrown at Todoroki in the other hand.

After giving a look to Todoroki that said "cover me" he charged in towards stain in a dance of blades. Stain was obviously the better fighter against the skinny and sickly boy, but the other still held out long enough, with the aid of Todoroki's ice and his calling out warnings.

It was nearly five minutes later that the boy was down once more, after getting cut on his better leg, and falling against the wall again. Stain charged Todoroki, using that fact he wasn't using his fire to his advantage, and nearly cutting off his arms before Tenya's engines boosted to life and kicked him away. 

Tenya was back up again, and ready to fight. 

Stain obviously looked anxious, the threat of backup being on the way still stuck in his mind. He was getting reckless. 

After asking Todoroki to cool down his engines, the fight picked up. Blocking blades and spewing ice. 

And then finally, after ice burgs covered the alley, he was able to get a clean kick to the Hero killers stomach that sent him barreling upwards. A knife flew from out of nowhere and embedded itself in Stain's side, just as Tenya ran up the wall and landed another kick to the man's head. 

Tenya fell back to the ground as Todoroki raised a pillar of ice to catch him and left Stain up in the air of a chunk of ice. 

There was silence. 

"Is he..." The word dead was left unsaid but Tenya looked down when he felt a tap on his arm and saw the boy looking up at Stain. He then looked to him and shook his head, then knocked on the side of his head and closed his eyes, as if to say he was unconscious. 

"We should tie him up," Todoroki said. 

Tenya nodded as Todoroki went to look for some rope as he pulled the hero killer down from the ice. He and the boy started taking the knives off of the man and laying them to the side. Tenya noticed the boy looking for knives in places he didn't even think about like under the sleeves, in his boots, and even in the scarf. He was even more surprised to see that he was actually finding weapons in there.

He guessed that was something one would pick up after being raised by villains. 

That thought made him look down to the boy's arms and legs. Dirty bandages covered them, some places with rips through them that showed scarred skin underneath and blood staining through. A sprained ankle that looked to be in the process of healing was wrapped loosely on a t-shirt, most likely have come loose during the fight. His other leg had a deep cut on it, and it was a miracle that he could even stand. Large bruises under the boy's eyes and a haunted look on his face. 

He hesitated before speaking, "I- My name is Iida Tenya. Class 1-A heroics at UA. I don't think I had the pleasure of introducing myself."

The boy looked up at him and blinked before realizing he should introduce himself, but he obviously couldn't talk so he looked around before spotting his wrist. Holding it out for him to see, Tenya leaned in to look. 

It was a medical bracelet that was lazily wrapped around the bandaged wrist.

T.S: 0056 Midoriya Izuku

"Midoriya Izuku, it's nice to meet you," He said and the boy nodded, "Do you mind telling me what T.S. stands for? And what those numbers mean?" Tenya asked carefully. He had to remind himself he was speaking to a kid most likely tortured by villains, judging from the way he flinched at certain moments and couldn't speak at all. 

The boy just shrugged his shoulders and went back to disarming Stain, but didn't take the knife embedded into his side out.

Right. He couldn't talk. 

Todoroki soon came back with a rope and they began to tie Stain up. "Ah, This is Todoroki, he's also in my class. Todoroki-kun, this Midoriya."

"How do you know his name?" Todoroki asked.

"Bracelet," He replied. 

"Okay? Well anyway, it was lucky that someone threw this rope away. Though, who throws away perfect rope in a dumpster? That's kinda shady."

Midoriya looked up at him in confusion as if the very act of throwing rope away wasn't unnatural to him.

"Are you okay?" Native said as he came up to them. He'd been immobilized the entire fight and at one point had begged for them to leave as well. Now he was back on his feet, free from Stain's Quirk but still sporting a few cuts and scratches.

"I'm fine, but I think these two need a hospital," Todoroki said. 

"We should call an ambulance," Native stated.

Todoroki nodded and went to drag Stain out of the alleyway when Native went to pick Midoriya up, trying to be helpful and carry the injured boy. He flinched violently at being touched and scurried away from him. Native pulled his hand back in confusion, before putting both out to show he wasn't a treat. "It's okay, I'm not gonna hurt you if that's what you think."

Midoriya shook his head quickly and backed himself up against the wall. "It's gonna be okay, no ones gonna hurt you. I promise. What happened to that bravery that I saw just a few minutes ago?"

The boy bit his lip and shook as the hero tried to come closer to him. He obviously hated being touched. 

Soon more heroes came and gasped at the sight. "Is that the Hero killer?" A female hero asked in shock.

"Yeah," Todoroki said, "we need an ambulance. Iida-kun is hurt, as well as that other boy over there." He pointed in the direction of Midoriya, still backed up against a wall with Native trying to coax him into coming closer willingly.

The heroin nodded and joined Native. Kind words and sweet nothings to get the injured boy to come closer. It seemed, that now, after all the fighting was over, and the adrenaline leaving their bodies as there was nothing left to defend, Midoriya was left as he was before: a scared boy who needed help.

They finally got the boy to cooperate, and carried him out of the alleyway and to the street side to wait for the ambulance. 

It was then that Tenya made up his mind and bowed deeply to both his classmate, and his new ally. 

"I'm sorry. I was blinded by my rage and couldn't see clearly. And for that I owe you my apologies," Tenya said.

"Come on, it's fine. Get it together, your the class rep."

Tenya looked up at Todoroki's words and was surprised when he felt hot tears trickling down his face. He wiped them quickly before nodding. "Thank you."

It was then one of the heroes shouted out in terror, "Get down!"

He didn't get enough time to look up before he felt himself get pushed out of the way of razor sharp claws. A weak strangled cry came to his ears and he opened his eyes to see a large Nomu with leather wings flying away with Midoriya in it's grasp. 

The blood of the Nomu flew onto the heroine's cheek and was quickly licked away by an elongated tongue. 

Nomu stopped mid wing flap and fell towards the ground as a figure rushed between them, cut loose from his bonds. "The word Hero has lost all meaning in this society. In a world overrun by fakes and criminals like you who chase pretty dreams."

Tenya looked on as Stain jumped into the air. "You must all be purged." He came down on the Nomu's brain with the same knife that he'd been stabbed with.

"Everything I do is the create a better society."

There was a moment of silence where the only thing heard was Midoriya's rasping struggle, unaware of the intense pressure being put down on them.

This wasn't going to end well, Tenya could feel it.

___________________________________

Izuku struggled violently against the touch of the man's hand against his back. Pure fear making him lose sight of what was happening. All he could tell was that he was in danger.

He didn't know this stranger.

They were going to hurt him.

All people ever did was hurt him.

"Everything I do is to create a better society," A distant voice said. 

"Heroes! I will reclaim the word! Come on! Just try and stop me, you fakes!" Izuku tried zeroing in on the words as they became clearer and clearer.

"There is only one man I'll let kill me. He is the true hero. All Might is worthy!" The voice spoke once more. At the mention of All Might, Izuku immediately came to his senses. 

A pressure unlike any he ever felt before over took him as primal fear encased his being. Stain stood over him, facing the other heroes on the sidewalk with an aura of pure bloodlust forcing everyone into stillness. Fight or flight wasn't responding and everyone was frozen. 

Izuku has felt this kind of intensity before at the bar while writing. It usually happened when a fight broke out while he was still doing Shigaraki's analysis and there were people who haven't yet left. 

It always managed to make him cower in fear when he was younger, but after a while he had stopped reacting to it.

Until now.

This was stronger than it has ever been. The pure ideals of a man who swore blood shed to anyone who opposed him. Izuku feared for the lives of everyone on that street.

There was no doubt in his mind that this man was crazy and a lunatic, but he still had the tenacity and determination to pull through with his ideals which made him more dangerous than most other villains at the moment. The tension created by this man was think enough to cut with a knife.

Stain took a step forward, and then froze.

The pressure was gone.

And left in it's place was a stiff body of a mass murderer.


	9. Panic

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Is the hospital really a good place for him?

Izuku was rushed into an ambulance quicker than he could struggle. The claws from the Nomu had slashed his skin, causing him to bleed. Its strange, he hadn't felt the pain until then. 

He kept trying to get up, to move away and distance himself from the gloved hands that held him down to the gurney. He hated hands, especially gloved ones. 

Pain flared through his body and he squeezed his eyes shut and hit down hard. He had to get away, he had to find help. Osachi and the others still needed help. They were moving somewhere. Where were they going? 

Something cold was strapped across his chest and then his legs and kept him down. Fear spiked and he struggled harder. There was something placed on his face that blew air into his mouth. Words were being said but he couldn't understand it clearly.

Why was everything so hazy?

Why couldn't he move?

"Honey, you need to calm down. You're safe, nothing is going to hurt you. I'm trying to help you, can you let me help you?" A soft feminine voice said. 

He whimpered and tried opening his eyes again. The light overhead was almost blinding in comparison to the dark alleys that he'd just come from. A figure leaned forward into his vision and covered the light. A woman with long straight white hair that was red at the tips. She had strawberry red eyes and freckles like him. 

Her hand pushed his hair back and out of his eyes and wiped his forehead with a soft rag. 

She looked like a good person.

Izuku relaxed slightly and let her work. He expected pain from her touch, but was shocked when none came. If he could speak he'd probably ask who she was and what she was doing, but he was suddenly too tired to care. Why was he so tired all of a sudden? Was it her Quirk?

Against his will, his body went completely lax as two more people began to work his torso. The woman with the white hair stayed next to him, gently petting his hair back until the vehicle they were in came to a stop.

He was scared again. It was like the Doctor all over again. He was strapped down and being taken somewhere where people would do bad things to him. 

The struggle picked up as he was taken out of the vehicle and rolled into a building down lengthy hallways. The lights overhead were brighter than they were before and made his head hurt. 

"Hon, you need to calm down. Everything is fine, you're safe. No one is gonna hurt you," The woman said as she came into his peripheral vision. There were orders being made from people he couldn't see as adults in white lab coats hurried by.

This was all so overwhelming. 

He didn't want to be here. He wanted Eraserhead or Present Mic, they had to be somewhere.

Where were they?

___________________________________

Shouta groaned when he heard his phone go off in the middle of the night. People who knew him, knew that he didn't take calls late at night unless he was on patrol. This was one of the rare nights that he got to sit back and relax.

He'd just gotten those insufferable bandages off of his face and he no longer looked like a mummy. His doctor still banned him from patrols or any other strenuous activities. 

He was fine with that.

People knew that this was his week off. All of his students were out on internships so he didn't have to take care of a bunch of brats. No hero work, no school, nothing. That was until he got that phone call.

They wouldn't be calling unless it was important right?

He groaned again into his pillow and reached a hand over to his bedside table. It was the hospital.

Shouta was wide awake now. 

Pressing the button faster than he could think he put the phone up to his ear. "Hello?"

"You're Aizawa Shouta, correct? This is Hosu general hospital, I'm calling because Iida Tenya wished to speak with you. He wanted to make a call and gave me this number," A young male voice spoke.

"Iida Tenya is my student. What happened? Is something wrong?"

"He had an encounter with Hero Killer, Stain, along with what I'm assuming is his classmate Todoroki Shoto. They both survived and are in healthy condition. They just wished to speak with you."

Shouta was up and dressed by the time he finished his first sentence. "Please hand the phone to him?" 

A voice spoke in the background before he heard the distinct sound of his student. "Hello Sensei."

"Iida-kun, what the hell happened? No wait. Tell me once I get there, are you okay?" Shouta asked as he grabbed his keys and rushed out the door.

"We're fine. No permanent damage other than my left hand, but that can be fixed with surgery. Todoroki-kun was stabbed in the arm, but that's mostly it other than frost bite. That's not the reason I was calling you though," Iida said.

"What?"

"That boy from the USJ. The one that was next to Shigaraki Tomura? He saved me," Iida spoke.

If Shouta pressed harder on the gas pedal then no one had to know. "He was there? Is he safe? Where did he go?"

"Yes, he was there. Medics took him into an ambulance right after the fight. He's safe and in the hospital with us. They haven't told me which room, but I know he's here."

"Good. Don't move, I'll be there soon," Shouta said.

"Sensei, if I may ask, what happened to him?"

The buildings flying by his vision seemed to slow as the world came to a stop. In truth, Shouta has no idea what Izuku had been through. All he knew is that it was nothing good, and that it would take a long time for him to heal from this. 

It was a moment later he realized he was still on the phone. "I don't know, Iida-kun. That boy is someone who has needed help for a long time, and it's about time someone helped."

"Alright. Thank you, Sensei."

"I'll be there soon," He said and hung up the phone.

Shouta's nerves started to eat at him. The last time he'd seen Izuku was during the USJ incident and the boy had looked so fragile then. What happened after the villains made their escape with him? They didn't hurt him because of Shouta, did they? What if Izuku never forgave Shouta for not being able to protect him? He wouldn't blame him if that was the case.

It was Shouta's fault to begin with.

The scenery passed by and he soon found himself running up to the Hosu general hospital doors. The receptionist was a young man who couldn't have been older than thirty with a blue nurses outfit on and short black hair. 

"Hello, I'm here to see Iida Tenya and Todoroki Shoto. What room are they in?" He asked.

"Can I see your ID first?" The man asked. 

He pulled out his wallet and showed the young man his driver's license and watched him pull out a visitors card. "Room 183. Fourth floor."

"Thank you," He took the card and sped off in that direction.

Walking in the door to his student's hospital room, he saw that they were both talking in hushed whispers. "Hey."

They looked up at him and relief flooded into their features, though Iida looked a little guilty as he stood and bowed deeply. "Sensei. I apologize for my actions and will accept any punishment you see fit."

"Depends on the actions that you believe are worth punishing you over," Shouta said.

Iida straightened his back but kept his head down with his gaze on the floor. "I think it would be best if you sat down."

And just like that Iida explained the whole story from his perspective, and once he was done Todoroki explained his. Shouta was in shock, the mere thought that two of his students had come in contact with the Hero killer and not only survived but won.... it mortified him. He took a deep breath to calm himself but it didn't do much. 

After a moment of holding his head in his hands he looked up at them. "I'm just glad that you're still with us. You two aren't off the hook, but for now, let me just be thankful that you're still alive."

"Sensei-," Todoroki started but Shouta cut him off.

"Are you sure you don't know where Izuku-kun is, though?"

"Izuku? You mean Midoriya-kun? After the medics put him in the ambulance we don't know. We asked the nurses and they said that he was here too, but wouldn't share his room number," Iida explained.

"Alright, well I'm gonna go check on him if that's okay with you," He stood time leave and was halfway out the door before Todoroki stopped him.

"Aizawa-sensei, wait. What is it with this boy? I know you already said that you don't know what happened to him, but how do you know so much about him?" 

He looked at his student for a moment, not knowing what to do, before sighing deeply. "I found him when he was about eight, or more like he found me. He was abandoned by his parents and living out on the streets. I was coming back home with food and he followed me in hopes of getting some. Tsukauchi, the detective from before that had taken your statements on the USJ, he told me to take care of him until morning when he could come pick him up. That night Izuku disappeared."

Todoroki's eyes widened slightly in shock, "You didn't look for him?" 

Shouta eyes narrowed, "Of course I looked for him. I looked everywhere. But after a while you learn that sometimes you can't look forever. I had to accept it and move on. I thought he just ran away."

"Clearly he didn't," Todoroki said under his breath, looking down at the bed sheets.

He was about to reply before rapid footsteps came from behind him. Turning around he saw nurses running down the hall with frantic expressions. He went outside the rooms and stopped one. "Ma'am, what's with all commotion?"

She looked towards the direction they all were going before quickly looking back at him. "Theres a patient that's freaking out. Nothing you have to worry about. Sorry about the noise," She said and then sped off. 

Shouta ran off in her direction and once he turned the corner down the hall he saw five nurses all huddled outside a room. Worry etched their features as they whispered amongst each other. "Honey, it's okay. You're safe, no one is gonna hurt you here," A voice inside the room spoke in a soft but pleading way. "Someone go get Kikira-san, her Quirk should be able to help with this."

One of the nurses nodded to the person inside the room and quickly made her way past him. 

Curious, Shouta decided to approach. He made it to the doorway and peered in to see two doctors and another nurse trying to coax a patient out from under the hospital bed. 

"I heard he hit Somai-san when she came to check on him. She was holding her arm when she left," One of the nurses whispered to another.

"Poor thing. He must've been abused," The other whispered back.

"Midoriya-kun, please come out. We're not going hurt you," The female doctor said.

That's when Shouta burst into the room. The nurses tried to stop him, to tell him that this was a private part of the hospital and he wasn't permitted, but he didn't listen. "Izuku?" He knelt down at the foot of the bed and looked under.

Izuku was in a new light blue hospital gown with brand new white bandages on his forearms and calves. His left ankle was wrapped properly and he was being careful not to put too much pressure on it. His hair was brushed out of knots and his face cleaned. He was still scrawny and would need time to build up a healthy weight but at least he was alive. 

Around his left wrist were two different colored hospital bracelets. A fluorescent yellow one, and a red one. The normal standard white one had a bar code, his name and his patient number.

His eyes were dilated and afraid as he pressed himself further back. "Hey Izuku, it's me. You remember me, right?"

The boy stopped shaking and looked him in the eyes, searching. It was like he was a deer caught in headlights. Recognition crossed his face as his brows furrowed. He still didn't make any move to come out though. "Do you think you can come out, please? We don't wanna hurt you, we just think that you would be more comfortable on the bed than you would be under it. You could get hurt down there."

One of the doctors sitting next to him turned towards him in surprise before looking back at Izuku. "Yeah, everything is alright. We just wanna help you."

He still looked apprehensive and hesitant, turning to look between them and the nurses at the door. His gaze found Shouta's and he nodded slowly, cautiously moving towards him. 

Shouta didn't move as the boy came up to him, but when he felt hands clasped his shirt he slowly wrapped his arms around him and picked the boy up to place him back on the bed. He ended up sitting down with him when Izuku didn't let go of his shirt. 

A woman came through the door with the same dark blue nurses outfit as the rest. Her hair was long and white with red tips. She looked out of breath like she'd run all the way here. In her hand was a syringe with what he assumed was a sedative. Her eyes found the huddled form of Izuku and her brows furrowed in confusion when she saw Shouta.

"Who are you? You shouldn't be in here," She said sternly.

"I'm a hero. I know this boy," Shouta explained.

"Oh. Can you confirm his name is Midoriya Izuku? It was on a wristband he was wearing when he came in, but the boy that name belongs to is legally dead."

"Yes, that's his name," Shouta replied. 

"Sir, we have to run a few tests on him. He just woke up now from surgery and this is standard procedure," The male doctor said. 

"Izuku? Do you think you can let them run a few tests? They just want to make sure you’re healthy."

Izuku looked over his shoulder at the nurse that just came in and his eyes found the syringe in her hand. He shivered at the sight.

Reluctantly, he let go of Shouta's shirt and let the man stand up. He sat down in the chair next to the bed to offer support. The nurse put the syringe down on a table and Shouta watched as Izuku relaxed substantially. 

A fear of needles maybe?

The male doctor came closer up to the bedside and Izuku backed away slightly. The doctor picked up a discarded IV needle and held it for Izuku to see. "I need to put these back in. It'll help make you more hydrated. Can I?" He asked carefully. Izuku almost looked confused at the question, but still slowly nodded.

He was tense as the doctor gently took his arm and wiped a small area clean with an antibiotic wipe. The area had been covered with small droplets if blood from where the IV had probably been ripped out. 

Once the other IVs and wires were back in their place, the doctor started asking Izuku small questions and asking him to do small things to see if they worked. Shouta watched as the doctor asked Izuku to say his name, to which Izuku tried but broke into a coughing fit.

The doctor's brow furrowed and he pulled a small wooden stick from his pocket and asked him to open his mouth. "The muscles in your throat are atrophied from lack of use and scratched up. You'll need some physical therapy to help, but with more and more practice you can speak again," He said. Izuku looked up at him in surprise. "For now though, I think I have a way for you to communicate. We keep these in rooms for patients who can't speak or need practice in learning how to write again."

He opened a drawer and pulled out a notepad and pencil, and then handed it to Izuku. Who began writing immediately. The boy held it up for the doctor to see whose face scrunched up in concern.

"Are you sure? We can keep you in here where you can have privacy, if you want. The boys are fine, just some minor injuries, but you sure you want to move?" He asked.

Intrigued, Shouta leaned in. "What do you want to do, Izuku-kun?" The boy turned the notebook to him and he looked down to read surprisingly neat handwritten words. 

Where is Iida-kun and Todoroki-kun? Are they okay? Can I please be moved to their room?

Given a chance to communicate and he immediately asks about others. Why did Shouta get the feeling he shouldn't be surprised. "Well, I'm okay with it. They were asking about you earlier. If the doctors think it's okay and if Iida and Todoroki are okay with it, then it should be fine."

"I'll go ask," Said one of the nurses that was still in the doorway.

After about half an hour, Izuku was set up in the two other boys' room with his IV and his notepad. Shouta stepped out into the hall to leave the boys alone to talk and pulled out his cell to make a very important phone call.

"Hey, Nezu. I know it's late, but there's something that you need to hear."


	10. Road to Recovery

Izuku walked behind Aizawa-san closely, not leaving a six feet radius of him as they walked down the halls. This had been a regular routine for the two of them for the past few days. Izuku wore an oversized black hoodie with loose fitting jeans and a new pair of red sneakers, as he didn't have a school uniform yet. Recovery girl had given him a hair tie to pull his hair out of the way. It wasn't a very long ponytail, but he thought it looked okay.

Internships were still going on, but Iida has gone back home. Todoroki has returned to his internship with his father the next morning after their night in the hospital. Izuku remembered how when he'd been set up in their room, both boys looked relieved, but nervous. There had been a question in the back of his mind ever since he woke up and calmed down. It had to do with Todoroki.

"Do you mind if I ask you a question, Todoroki?" He had written on the paper notepad that he'd been given and showed it to the duel haired boy.

"Go ahead," Was the response.

"I couldn't help but notice something during our fight with that guy. You only use ice when to me it appears you have both fire and ice. I was wondering if there was a reason why?" The notepad read. Izuku watched his face as he read it. The way his body stiffened and eyes became guarded. He recognized it.

"I don't know what you're talking about," He huffed.

Izuku's brow furrowed and he took the notepad back and wrote a new message on a blank page. "Alright, you don't want to tell me, that's fine. I won't force you. But judging from your reaction, I can make a pretty good guess on why. And I understand."

Iida sat on his bed not knowing what to do or say as Izuku presented his silent advice. Todoroki read the message and the crease of his brow loosened as he looked up at Izuku in a silent understanding. 

He took the pad and continued. "I know what it feels like to be used for others own selfish purposes. It's the truth of my entire life. And I can tell that it was yours too. I don't want to make assumptions on what your past as been like, so I won't. But I can tell you resent your father. I know that he's Endeavor judging from facial structure and your surname. And I'm sorry for that, I can't even begin to imagine what you must have been through."

Todoroki's face morphed into shock as he read his note and he lowered his gaze when he finished with a scowl. "I hate him. I'll resent him until I die. I'll become a hero just by using my mother's Quirk and I'll reject him. I won't use his Quirk."

The sound of pen scratching paper filled the room and Iida pulled his phone out (The hospital staff decided to give it back, despite the cracked screen) and mess with that while they talked. 

Izuku held the notepad up again. "Can your mother control your ice?"

The hot-and-cold boy looked at him confused. "No?" He said. He waited for Izuku to finish writing his note.

"Can your father control your fire?"

"No," He grumbled lowly.

Izuku wrote quickly and once he was done he looked Todoroki in the eyes resolutely while hesitantly putting his hand on Todoroki's left one while holding up the notepad. 

"Your heritage does not define who you are as a person. You are neither your mother nor your father. You are who you want to be because you are your own person, your Quirk is the same. You control it so it is up to you to decide how you want to use it. You have an amazing Quirk, Todoroki. It's a Quirk that I would kill to have. But you fail to realize how close we were to dying today because you refused to use it to it's potential. How much longer until your ice isn't enough? The way you’re thinking will only hurt you in the end, and I hope you realize that by doing this, you’re letting your father win. You’re letting him win by showing him he has control over you. It's your Quirk, not his. Don't let anyone convince you otherwise."

Todoroki's eyes went wide and something in them sparked, like a flame that had been put out was now roaring again with determination and the will to move on. He smiled and looked down at their hands. 

"Thank you Midoriya."

He nodded softly and went back to his own bed, pulling the IV stand with him.

The night went on and Izuku slept soundly for the first time in what felt like his entire life. The next morning he'd met with UA's principal, who, for some unfathomable reason, had taken an extreme liking to him. The mouse had asked him to do an analysis on one of the heroes working at UA, Snipe, and showed in one video of him fighting.

That had been enough for Izuku to do a five page detailed analysis on his Quirk and fighting style, along with side information. He and Nezu shared a long talk together about quantum physics and Quirk theory. That had been fun.

And now Izuku walked down the halls of UA with his new caretaker, shadowing behind him. The halls were empty aside from the occasional hero that walked by. Apparently they had contacted his mother, who he didn't even know was still alive, and told her of his situation. She still didn't want to take him. She'd found a new man and was newly married again with a daughter. 

Izuku truly hoped that she was happy.

But that had left Izuku to the foster system to which Aizawa had been so kind as to take him in. Izuku could swear that it was Nezu's doing but he didn't say anything. 

A notepad was tucked in his arms tightly to his chest with a mechanical pencil in his pocket. So far he still had a long way to go before he could speak normally, but after a few days of physical therapy with Recovery Girl, he could whisper words faintly. Just not for too long though.

Izuku almost ran into Aizawa after not noticing him stopping, but caught himself before he could. "You okay?" 

He looked up and nodded to him.

Aizawa opened the door to reveal the rest of the heroes that worked at UA behind their desks doing paperwork. Izuku felt very uncomfortable in this room as he looked around to see heroes that he might've given information about them to villains. 

It made him dizzy with guilt.

Two people noticed as the walked into the room and looked up with happy smiles and warm welcomes. 

Izuku didn't deserve that.

"Heya kiddo, how are you today?" Midnight asked him.

He took the mechanical pencil out of his pocket and flipped the notepad to a fresh page. "I'm fine, how are you?"

She smiled warmly, "I'm doing quite alright." 

"Heya Little listener! How's your day been?" Present Mic said as quietly as he could. He was trying to tone it down a bit due to Izuku's easy startling, which was greatly appreciated by both him and Aizawa.

"Good," He wrote.

"Problem child, remember you need to go to Recovery girl's office for another physical therapy appointment and Hound dog's for an actual therapy appointment," Aizawa said as he sat down at his own desk and started on paperwork.

Izuku frowned. He didn't like that he had to go to therapy appointments. He was fine the way he was, he didn't need to change.

"You'll be alright, kiddo. It's just therapy," Midnight said softly.

He looked to them and nodded, then walked out the door towards Recovery girl's office.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, thank you all so much for the support that this has been getting. It astounds me every time I look at the numbers. You all are so amazing.  
> Just know that if you ever have fan art, you can send it to my tumblr at lunermoon1000. I don’t really know how to link it. Sry. If anyone does know, please tell me.


	11. Relax?

"Now I want you to say, "My name is Midoriya Izuku. Nice to meet you"," Recovery girl said as Izuku sat in front of her on the edge of the cot next to her desk. He looked down at the board of sentences that was written for him to say.

He opened his mouth hesitantly. "My name is Midoriya Izuku. Nice to meet you," He whispered. Shame filled his heart and he looked down at his lap. He still couldn't speak normally. When would they realize he was useless and give up on him? If he was still with Shigaraki, he'd be slapped for his failure.

Recovery girl hummed, "It's still a little weak. With more practice it should get better. It's still progress nonetheless." Izuku looked up and saw her smiling at him. This had to be some cruel joke, right? There's no way she could be happy with him. "I don't want you to use your voice too much now. It could hurt your throat. Alright, dearie?"

Izuku nodded slowly.

"Now, off you go. You might be able to catch Aizawa if you go now," She said. 

And just like that he was headed for the door, but just before he opened it he sent one bow to Recovery girl as thanks.

He rushed down the corridors towards the teachers lounge and found Aizawa just beginning to head down the hall towards his classroom. Today was the first day back from the students internships. Aizawa heard his footsteps coming and turned to see him heading his way. Just like every time, he glanced at the scar on his cheek. He'd done that. That was his fault. 

He really was a screwup-

"Kid, you done with physical therapy?" He asked.

Izuku looked up after being startled from his thoughts, now noticing that he'd looked down in the first place, and nodded

"Say yes, but with your mouth," He said.

"Y-Yes," He whispered. His voice was still raspy and soft. It would take a while before he could speak any louder.

"It's getting better, good job," He praised. Izuku felt his cheeks go warm at the compliment and nodded. "I know you don't want everyone's attention on you, but just so you know, there are some students that are a little hyper and will ask questions. They can get pretty loud, are you okay with that?"

He wasn't but he didn't want to leave Aizawa's side, so he nodded instead. 

"Alright," He said as the door came up. "Don't cause a scene and everything will be fine."

Loud voices came from behind the sturdy wood and Izuku subconsciously stepped behind his guardian. The man either didn't mind or didn't notice as he stepped up and threw the large door open. 

And just like that, all the voices stopped at once. 

He was somewhat awed by the silence and the blank stares of the students. It was so quiet he could hear a pen drop. Aizawa walked into the room and up to the podium, while Izuku followed behind him and sat on the floor in the corner with his notebook where he pulled it out from the back of his pants. He opened it to see a page of math problems he had written for himself earlier that morning. 

The pen from his pocket in hand, he started distracting himself from the curious looks of the students and the loud respecting voice of Aizawa.

Izuku was halfway through the equations when Aizawa called the end of his announcements and laid down in his sleeping bag behind the podium. That's when students began to crowd him. Not all of them, there were a handful that stayed in their desks but looked on, watching the other students ask him questions. A boy with spiky blonde hair scowled in his direction and the boy he recognized as Todoroki ignored all of them. 

Iida though, came to his rescue. 

"Are you a new student? Why don't you have a uniform? Are you Aizawa's kid?" A girl with pink hair and skin asked. 

"Why are you following Aizawa-sensei kero," A girl that looked like a frog asked.

"Did you come to marvel at my glory, Mon amie?" A boy with golden blonde hair asked.

"Wait, aren't you that boy from the USJ?" Another student asked.

Iida moved his way in front of him and tried getting the students to back off. "Give him some space, he's still not used to being crowded!" He scolded in a stern voice, fit for a class president. 

"Why were you with Shigaraki?" 

"How did you get into this school?"

"Were you saved?"

"Everyone leave him alone!" Iida commanded.

Panic flowed through his mind like a river as he looked between each of the students faces. It must've shown on his expression as they all took a few paces back. Some went back to their desks, seeing as they wouldn't get the answers to their questions, others stayed near just to look at him.

The girl with the frog features snuck through Iida's arms and squatted down about three feet away from him, enough to give him space, but still close enough to talk quietly for him to hear. "Are you okay? You look pale? Well, paler, Kero."

He shakily pulled his notebook out again and flipped to a fresh page. His hand shook but he managed to get it out. 

"I don't like being crowded."

She read the note and looked back up at him and blinked. "I'm sorry then, didn't mean to overwhelm you. We're all just curious, kero. My name is Asui Tsuyu, but you can call me Tsu. What's your name?"

"Midoriya Izuku. It's nice to meet you, Tsu-san."

"Nice to meet you too. Can I call you Izu?" She asked. Izuku gapped at her. No one really had a special nickname for him, other than Shigaraki, but that had been an insult. It wasn't a genuine nickname like Izu was. In his shock, he slowly nodded his head. 

Tsu put her index finger to her chin. "Can you not speak, Izu-chan? Are you mute?"

Izuku looked down at his lap and contemplated for a moment. Then he put his notebook down and cleared his throat. "N-No," He whispered. "Haven't.. spoken.. while. Need practice. Physical t-therapy." He sighed exasperatedly and pulled his notebook back up to his lap. 

"So you just haven't spoken in a while? Is that what you meant?" He nodded. "I see, kero. Well, I hope that you're able to join us for classes at some point. I saw your fight with Sensei, you were impressive. Maybe you'd be able to give us knife handling tips? I'm sorry about myself and my classmates again, I hope we can become good friends, kero." 

Tsu stood up and went back to her desk. It was then that he noticed everyone else had stopped looking at him. 

Her voice.... it was so calming.

Maybe he could relax here?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay I know this chapter is short and I’m sorry for that. I just had a stressful week and not enough time to write. Nonetheless you got your chapter. I hope you enjoyed it!   
> Side note: I still really need someone to explain how I can link a tumblr to this goddamn sight. I still don’t know how to do that.  
> Have a good week!


	12. Deku

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In my defense.... I told you guys not to get attached.

The boy in front of him sat in his chair with his legs tucked up to his chest. He played with his fingers while looking down at the floor nervously. Nezu kept a small patient smile while he waited for Midoriya to tell him what was on his mind. Midoriya was a smart if not shy boy who didn't often share what was on his mind, from what Nezu has gathered.

He'd decided to have the boy shadow the teachers for many reasons. One being that if a boy who has grown up surrounded by villains still wanted to be good, then Nezu was honored to teach him.

Their similar experiences created a bond between them immediately. Plus, it was hard to come across intelligent conversation nowadays. 

It was a surprise in itself that the boy had asked to speak with him alone, though. He'd been here for about two weeks under UA's care and had hardly left Aizawa's side once. He guessed that was reasonable.

Midoriya finally looked up, determination blazing in his gaze and spoke, ever softly but as loud as he could, "Did you find them?"

Nezu sat back with a small breath. This had been one of the first conversations that he'd had with Midoriya: Where he'd come from, and what had happened. The boy had recounted his experience to him with vague detail but nonetheless had told him about the others that he'd left behind in favor of getting help. Unfortunately in his rush to escape that night, he hadn't thought to memorize the way back.

Police were still searching, but were ultimately coming up empty. Although, Midoriya had mentioned that one of the villains bases, the one that he'd been held captive at for most of his life, was a small bar. 

But with the knowledge that the villains had a warping Quirk on their side, they had no idea what prefecture it was in.

There were still people waiting for help and they had no idea where they were. Nezu could tell that Midoriya felt guilty for not being able to give more information, but it was understandable that he hadn't thought of any of that while he was under that much pressure. And thanks to him, they knew the Quirks of the League in detail, and the fact that All for One was still alive thanks to the help of a personal doctor.

Midoriya had been trying to distract himself in favor of learning from Aizawa and becoming more comfortable with his new freedom, but now he was comfortable enough to ask.

"I'm sorry, Midoriya-kun. We haven't found anything," Nezu said.

Pain flashed across the boy's face before relaxing into an emotionless blank stare. "I see," He whispered.

"The police and heroes are doing everything we can to find where they are, I can promise you that." Nezu was a bit hesitant to mention it, because it was something that Midoriya could live without hearing. He'd told him that there had been a man named Osachi that had kept him company.

After looking through missing persons files, they'd found someone by the name Osachi Kae with a nullification Quirk. He had a short criminal record, nothing too bad other than dealing drugs and some property damage. He'd gone missing a few years ago.

It's too bad that his life ended the way it did.

The Nomu from the Hosu incident, one of them in particular, had his dna traces. 

Midoriya deserved to know, but knowing would only make him blame himself. So regretfully... Nezu watched the boy sulk out of the room, ignorant of what had happened to his friend.

___________________________________

"Hey Midoriya!" A voice called from behind him. Izuku struggled not to flinch away from the touch of Ururaka and Ashido as he came up behind him with smiling faces. "Are you free this weekend? Maybe we can hang out?"

Izuku hesitated. He didn't know what Aizawa's policy was on having others in his house without permission, and even if he did want to hang out he didn't have any social skills whatsoever. This was all still new to him, having people that wanted him around.

He shook his head slowly, not wanting to make the girls angry with his response and whispered, "I'm hanging out with Aizawa-san."

"So you do live with him! I knew it!" Ashido squealed. This time Izuku actually did flinch and tensed up. Seeing his reaction she, thankfully, quieted down. "What's it like? Does he live in an apartment or a house? How many cats does he have? Is his house decorated or is it bland like him? Come on dude, you gotta tell me everything!"

"Mina-chan I think you should calm down," Tsuyu came to his rescue. "I think you're freaking him out."

"Yeah Mina, one question at a time," Ururaka agreed.

"You guys are a killjoy. Aren't you curious? Come on Midoriya, throw us a bone here?" She leaned into him as he took a step back.

What should he say? Would Aizawa appreciate him answering any of these questions? Probably not. Maybe he should just answer one to get them off his back and leave him alone. Don't get him wrong, they were all very nice to him, but sometimes they got very loud. "He has two cats," He whispered.

"Really? I thought he'd have at least seven. But knowing he's a cat person answers a few other questions." Oh thank the gods, maybe that meant she'd leave him alone now. 

"Hey Midobro!" Just kill him already. "What's up!" Kirishima said as he dragged a few more people up to him. "Were you just coming from the principal's office? What did you want to talk to him about? Is it about your uniform coming in?"

Nezu had told him that he was planning on having him join Class 1-A with their training and come to his office during normal classes where he would teach him personally. The mouse also told him this was a good opportunity to analyze the hero course students and tell them how they can improve their skills. This was how he could be useful. 

He was also told that the reason that he didn't just join normal classes is because it would be a waste of time. Because of his already high IQ and him being at a college level, there was nothing those classes could teach him, but Nezu didn't want to just end his learning.

But his uniform hadn't come yet. Up until this point, he'd just been wearing the same black hoodie that Aizawa had bought him and a pair of baggy jeans. It was comfortable so he didn't complain, but it was kinda annoying that the students kept staring at him since he stood out so much. But Aizawa already told him that there had been a delay and that it was coming soon.

He could just tell Kirishima it had been about the League but he didn't want that kind of attention again. "Yeah, said it would come soon," He whispered. His throat was beginning to get sore. 

"That's cool dude," Kirishima flashed him a bright smile. Izuku kept his straight face and held his notebook close as he looked around him for his guardian. "Y'know, that packet you gave me about my Quirk and fighting style was cool, if not a little harsh at some parts, but helpful. Thanks dude!"

Izuku spotted the tall slim figure of his foster parent and perked. Giving a quick nod to Kirishima, he made his escape.

Catching up with him, he walked behind the man like a shadow. "Hey kid, finish your talk with Nezu?"

He nodded and kept his pace.

"I don't understand how your not terrified of him. Nezu can get scary at times," Aizawa said.

Izuku didn't know what to say to that, so he just decided not to say anything. Instead, he let himself space out. Where was Osachi? What was the doctor doing to him right now? What had he left him to?

Guilt ate at his insides like greedy baby birds. What if he was dead?

"Kid? You ready to head home, Hizashi is probably waiting for us in the car," Aizawa brought him out of his steadily darkening thoughts. 

Izuku let himself stare at the scar on the man's cheek for a little longer than what was necessary. He did that. He'd caused that. What kind of person was he? Not a good one, thats for sure. After a few moments he nodded and they were about to step out of the school when he heard a familiar voice call a vaguely familiar name.

"Deku! Wait!"


	13. Recognition

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Memories that are hazy can be cleared. People we once met can change drastically over time and you might not even be able to recognize them later.

Despite popular opinion, Katsuki did like his teachers and classmates. Well... most of them for the most part. He despised Icy-hot with a burning passion that couldn't be put into words. The hero that he interned with wasn't any better. The extras all learned something from their internships while he spent the whole week with a psychopath that tried "fixing" his hair.

His homeroom teacher was cool though. A no bullshit attitude and a snarky humor that made most people avoid him. It was comedic to watch most of the time.

So when a short timid boy with dark green hair and a black hoodie came stumbling into the classroom behind his teacher, he did a double take.

The boy sat in the corner of the classroom behind Aizawa-sensei's desk and pulled a notebook out of the back of his pants and started writing in it quietly. Aizawa-sensei didn't even look in the boy's direction other then a few small glances. The man didn't even say who he was.

Was he Aizawa-sensei's kid? Nah there was no way the man had a kid. If so, then who with? 

Katsuki was curious, as was the rest of his classmates judging by how everyone else was staring at the boy. 

As if sensing their curiosity, the boy pulled his hood up over his head and continued on with his writing. It was like he was ignoring them. That pissed Katsuki off. Once Aizawa-sensei was done giving his boring speech to the class about upcoming events, almost all of the extras got up in unison and crowded the boy.

Katsuki wasn't even up there and he could tell that it was freaking the kid out. He scowled in the boy's direction and tried getting him to look over at him.

Eventually Four-eyes came and shooed everyone away so the kid could take a damn breath, but Frog-face stayed up there with him and talked in a hushed but calmed manner that seemed to relax the kid. Later on in the day, he overheard Frog-face talking to Pink-cheeks about him and saying that the kid was a mute and his name was Midoriya Izuku.

It struck a familiar cord with him, but he didn't quite know where from. From that point on, his classmates tried to make conversation with the new comer that followed their teachers around. He never spoke though.

Duh.

Did they not understand what a mute was?

After a few periods he stopped walking with the hood of his sweater up, revealing long dark green curls that went to his shoulders. It was usually tied up in a loose ponytail to keep it out of his eyes. Dark circles lay under his eyes like a permanent feature that seemed to rival their homeroom teacher's. Katsuki didn't even think the at was possible. A splattering of freckles covered his cheeks like kisses and constellations.

The mute fucker would follow around all of the teachers, taking notes while sitting in the corner of the class on the floor. What the notes were about, Katsuki had no fucking clue, but the constant sound of his pencil was annoying as hell. His teachers would go to him quietly to ask if he wanted a chair to sit in, and the boy would just shake his head. Freak.

He always spent most of his time with Aizawa-sensei, never leaving his side for more than a few hours. The more the extras kept mentioning it, the more he looked like Aizawa's kid. But after looking a little closer, he realized that one of their first statements was right, he did look like the kid from the USJ. It was a stark contrast between the rags and bandages he wore before. Now that he looked like he'd had a shower and a new wardrobe, he looked like a decent fucking human being now.

Something about that made Katsuki pissed. This kid was part of the villains. He'd helped attack his class and had fought his teacher. His mind brought him back to the first time he saw Mute-mouth, he'd been running back to the plaza with Shitty-hair at his heels. 

He'd wanted to get back at the portal fucker for getting the drop on him and his classmates. "Don't follow me unless you're gonna do something!" Katsuki shouted at his classmate.

"I'm just as angry as you, bro. I'm gonna fight!" He'd shouted back. 

"Tsk, fine then!" He scoffed. 

Once they had rounded the corner, Katsuki saw a scene he was sure he would never forget. The groaning forms of lackluster villains lay across the ground randomly. The portal fucker and that handy fuck stood at the edge, watching the fight that Katsuki couldn't take his eyes off of.

There was a boy. Covered in ragged clothing and bloody bandages with a face mask covering his mouth and nose. Katsuki could see, because he was facing his direction, that the boy was crying. The boy had long hair, matted with so much dirt and grime it looked black.

The dagger in his hand gleamed in the light as the boy swung it around. His bare feet jumped lightly over the obstacles across the floor almost like he had a sixth sense for it.

He and Shitty-hair stood in stunned silence as the boy got a cut on their teacher's face. His handling of the knife looked like an innate skill with a practiced edge. Katsuki was almost surprised when Aizawa-sensei caught the boy's arms and restrained him, he was definitely surprised when the boy began convulsing and shaking. It was enough to make the boy pass out.

Now here he was, in their school and following that same teacher around like a damn shadow. 

The thought to confront him crossed his mind, but he quickly banished the thought. Freckle-face couldn't talk and always wrote in that damn notebook. Katsuki didn't think he would be able to keep calm while waiting for him to write. 

After the day was over he went home to his chaotic family, deciding he should ask his father what to do. His dad was soft spoken and quiet most of the time, opting to be the peace keeper around the house. If anyone knew how to talk to a quiet nerd, it was him.

Katsuki sat at the dinner table and twirled the end of his chopsticks around the soba noddles he and his mother had made for dinner. 

How was he supposed to bring this up? What was he supposed to say?

"How was your day, Katsuki? You look like you have something on your mind," His father asked. He guessed that was a start.

"There was a weird kid following the teachers around at school today," Katsuki said in a way that wasn't exactly yelling but not exactly talking. He was just naturally loud.

"What for?" His mom asked curiously before taking a mouthful of soba. 

"Hell if I know. He just sulked in the corner of the classroom on the floor with a notebook," Katsuki said and ate his food.

"Huh, that's weird. Did you catch what his name was?" His dad asked.

"Yeah, overheard one of the extras say his name was Midoriya Izuku." All sound from room ceased as his parents looked at each other with shocked faces. The silence stretched for a few moments as Katsuki looked between his parents in confusion.

"What the hell is wrong with you guys?" 

"This boy... what did he look like?" His mother asked in a voice so quiet and slow that he almost didn't think it was her. He'd never see her so careful with her words. 

"Skinny. He looks weak but he's pretty fast," Katsuki said, once again remembering the USJ attack, "he has dark green hair and freckles." He heard his mother's breath hitch as grief took over her features. 

What the fuck was going on?

"Katsuki, do remember even playing in the park with the kids in the neighborhood?" His father asked.

"Yeah, they followed me around like little stalkers."

"When you were four, there was a boy that you would always play with. You played more with him than you did with any other kid. We knew his family, your mother and his were good friends," His father explained seriously. Katsuki didn't bother to suppress his sigh of annoyance. He'd heard this story a billion times before. "You had these nicknames for each other, I can't remember what he would call you, but you always called him Deku, I think."

"Ah-huh," He rolled his eyes.

"We told you he moved away, remember?" His mother said. Tears pricked the corner of her eyes as she spoke. "He never moved away."

Katsuki looked over at her in shock. Subconsciously, he sat up straighter, instincts screaming at him that whatever they had to say was important. "Huh?"

"He went missing shortly after he got diagnosed as Quirkless," His father said quietly. 

He didn't know what to say. What should he say? Was there a right action for how he was supposed to respond? His mind was racing a million miles a minute. He knew that nerd? Katsuki could only vaguely remember playing by some canal river and skipping rocks with that kid. But the memory was so blurry he couldn't remember what his face looked like.

"I...knew him?" He managed to say. His voice was so distant he didn't believe he was the one who said it. "I'm going to my room."

His parents didn't stop him as he stormed off up the stairs and slammed his door shut. The rest of the night was spent staring at his ceiling in thought of what to come.

The next morning Freckle-face wasn't with Aizawa-sensei. He only saw him for the afternoon classes and the boy was gone quick before anyone could ask questions. He followed the teachers around in the halls of the school, never alone for even a moment. 

The week passed on aggravatingly slow. The old hag kept telling him to talk to the nerd but he didn't know how that was possible if the kid she wanted him to talk to couldn't talk. But imagine his damn surprise when Freckle-face slowly started to be able to spew out word garbage.

Finally, Katsuki found the words he was looking for and decided to talk to him. 

So there he was, running after him. His classmates had said that he was leaving with Aizawa-sensei. If they left now, he wouldn't see them until next week and he didn't think he would be able to say it later.

They both came into sight and Katsuki saw that they were about to walk out the door. In that moment, Katsuki yelled out the first name that came to mind. That name that felt right to his tongue.

"Wait! Deku!"

Deku froze and turned around to face him with big eyes that were dulled and empty, but right then he saw them for how they used to be. 

Hand outstretched and waiting for him to take. He'd fallen into the small creek after taking a misstep on the log bridge. Deku had come to check on him. His eyes filled will innocence and concern. The memory had been long forgotten to time, but now the memory had a face. 

Katsuki stopped a few feet away, catching his breath from running all the way down the stairs. "Bakugo-kun," His teacher addressed. "Did you need something?"

"Deku. What happened to you?" Katsuki said breathlessly. 

Deku gripped his notebook tighter and took a few small steps towards him, eyes searching his figure. "What do you mean?" He whispered. Deku couldn't speak too loud, but why? He had questions that needed answers. 

"You left. You disappeared. My mom was worried sick about you. Where did you go? What happened," He demanded. 

Confusion covered Deku's face and he could tell he didn't know what he was talking about. That made Katsuki pissed again. "You dumbass! What the hell happened? Were you kidnapped? Did you run away? Huh!? ANSWER ME!"

"Bakugo-kun," Aizawa-sensei said sternly as Deku flinched away from the volume and tone of his voice. Katsuki recognized when he was being reprimanded, but he couldn't bring himself to care. 

"Tsk. Well?" Katsuki didn't break eye contact.

Deku pulled out his notebook and wrote something down on the paper with the pencil in his pocket and then held it out for him to read. "I'm sorry, I don't know what you're talking about. Deku sounds familiar though. Did I know you?"

"Yes idiot, you know me. Our moms were friends when we were little. And that name better sound familiar, cause that's what you are. A Deku."

Deku's eyebrows furrowed with confusion, but passed it off and wrote in the notebook again. "Why do you care about me now, if that was such a long time ago? And why come talk to me now and not sooner?" Deku asked.

"Huh? Are calling me a coward?!" Katsuki said.

The nerd shook his head and wrote again. Katsuki tapped his foot impatiently as he waited. 

"I'm not calling you a coward. I'm just wondering why you chose now to talk and not sooner? Why do you even care?" Deku stood with a patient face.

"I don't. But my mom has been nagging me ever since I told her about you. So don't make me ask again, what the hell happened to you?" Katsuki was getting impatient. 

"Bakugo. This is a matter that doesn't concern you. If he doesn't want to tell you, then he shouldn't have to. I won't have you sticking your nose in business that you don't belong in, and I certainly won't have you harassing people," Aizawa-sensei ordered.

"HUH?! THE HELL DO YOU MEAN BY THAT!" Katsuki shouted. Deku flinched back again, fear flashing in his eyes before disappearing. 

"You're smart. Figure it out. Come on, Izuku. Let's go," Aizawa-sensei said as he continued to the door. 

Deku followed after him, but stopped and looked back at him once before, a small flicker of recognition in his now dull eyes, before he turned and continued after him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you liked this weeks chapter my dudes;)


	14. Dreams and Speculations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dreams can be very realistic.

Izuku was curled up in the corner of the bar behind the counter. Kurogiri's feet were in front of him as the man continued to clean the glass in his hand. The glass had a chip in it, but despite that fact the man kept cleaning it.

Shigaraki had yet to force him back to his room, opting that he could stay in the bar until he grew bored of him. It wasn't too strange, these are times Izuku finds to go to the restroom and and eat what little food he's allowed. The regular patrons of the bar never take much notice of him. 

The female villains like to start conversations though.

"Oh you're such a sweetheart. What're you doing in a place like this, hon?" They'd say as they kneeled down to meet his eyes while he picked scraps from a plate. 

Not that he really minded it, they were just being nice. It was the fact that he couldn't speak back to them or do anything as they ruffled his hair that made him feel weird.

Izuku pecked from the piece of bread he'd been given. It's wasn't much food, and it certainly didn't keep full, but it was what he was given so that was what he got. The stale bread tasted as bad as anyone would expect stale dread to taste. 

Kurogiri reached down and handed him a small glass of tap water. As he drank he couldn't help but gag at the strange taste. Did Kurogiri drug his drink again?

He wished the man wouldn't. It made him lethargic and dizzy, but he guessed that was the point. To make sure that getting him back in his cell wouldn't be too much of a hassle.

Sighing, he downed the water and and finished his bread. After being granted his restroom break, he started to feel the drugs kick in and his legs wobble. Keeping his eyes open was borderline painful and his head throbbed. The man made of mist grabbed his shoulder and guided him back to his room and to the darkness. 

He was safe in the darkness. The darkness kept Shigaraki away. Shigaraki was never in the darkness so it was safe.

Letting his legs give way, he collapsed onto the bare mattress and tugged the short sleeves of his black shirt lower down his arms as he hugged his stuffed bear and finally let his eyes close.

___________________________________

Izuku was startled from his dream by the alarm on Aizawa-san's phone, which was ringing loudly throughout the apartment, waking up anyone unlucky enough to be near it. He sat up in his bed (to think he had an actual bed now-) and looked around. 

His blue sheets pooled at his waist, soft and brand new, the sun shining through the cracks in the green curtains which painted the walls with natural morning light. The walls were a soft almond white, yet to be decorated other than the poster on the wall with the JSL alphabet. A bookshelf against the wall on the left of the room held books and notebooks. 

His room.

Not a cell. 

It was a dream.

A soft knocking against his door made him snap his head. The door opened and the light from the hall came in along with the silhouette of Yamada. His hair was still down and messy, he must've just rolled out of bed. He flipped the switch by the door and the lights turned on. "Hey, kiddo. Glad to see you're awake," He started to step out, "Breakfast will be done in a few."

The man's yawn reached loudly down the hall and Izuku stared after him. 

He was safe now.

Climbing out of bed and throwing on the same hoodie he wore the day before, he came out of his room and silently went to the kitchen. 

A bowl of miso soup sat on the counter waiting for him and he sat down. "That's yours. Go ahead," Yamada said. He ate his food and saw Aizawa coming in it with his usual morning frown and going straight to the coffee maker.

"Morning, kid," Aizawa said behind his mug.

Good morning, Izuku signed. As he continued to eat he thought over what that strange boy kept talking about the other day. It was the weekend, so he had the entire day to think about it. He didn't know who he was, but he certainly seemed to know who he was.

Something about him seemed familiar, but he really had no clue who he was. He guessed it didn't matter anyway. 

Izuku spent the rest of his day thinking about him anyway, as he wrote down observations he made on a certain girl, Ururaka Ochaco, and her Quirk. Aizawa asked him to come up with a good way to train her Quirk so she didn't get sick. He'd also asked for his input on how to strengthen the Quirks of all the other hero course students. Apparently they were going on a field trip to a forest retreat soon and all the students would be training. 

Because Izuku was technically an unofficial student of class 1-A, he was also meant to partake in this training, but because of his lack of a Quirk he was going to be training physically. Of course that didn't mean that Aizawa wouldn't use his mind to help torture his other students.

Izuku wrote down a few strategies that could help further Ururaka in the use of her Quirk. Such as prolonged usage on a simple blunt object. Then closed the notebook and went back to the living room where Aizawa was. 

The man looked up upon his entrance from his point on the couch. Papers were strewn across the table and a red pen in Aizawa's hand. His hair was tied back in a bun. "Hey kiddo," The man said. "I don't know if you're aware or not, but the class is going out to the mall today. You won't need anything for the camp since I already have everything you would need, but I figured it would be a good chance for you to bond with the class. You up for it?"

Truth was that sounded terrifying. He absolutely hated being exposed and in the open unprotected. If he was allowed to carry a self defense weapon, maybe. 

Aizawa looked like he really wanted him to get to know the others. He'd been trying to get him to socialize with them all week. Izuku didn't really understand why though. He was fine with the people her knew. Yamada, Aizawa, Nezu, Recovery Girl, and Hound Dog. They were the people he was comfortable with. 

Anxiety crept into his mind like a parasite. What if they really got to meet him and didn't like him? What if they decided he wasn't good enough to be in the class? Todoroki and Iida were okay with him, but how long would that last until they got bored? 

"Well?" Aizawa's stoic but gentle voice broke his thoughts.

Okay, I'll go, He signed. JSL was something he was still trying to get the hang of. It was so he didn't have to carry around a notebook everywhere he went. Of course he did that anyway, but he wasn't wasting all that paper anymore.

"Alright. I'll drive you there and let you hang out with them for a few hours. Text me when you want to be picked up," Aizawa said.

This would be a long day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just want to say how sorry I am for not posting last week. I didn’t have a chapter to update and this one was rushed to finish. I haven’t really had a lot of time nor motivation. Especially for this chapter. Next week I’ll hopefully have a longer one, if not I apologize in advance. Anyway, please give me feedback on what you think of the story so far and give me theories on what you think will happen. Of course I won’t be confirming or denying any of them, but I want to see your thoughts on this. It could be educational. 
> 
> That being said, thank you for reading and I hope to see you all next week!
> 
> -Ace


	15. Smiles to Fear

He didn't want to be here. He'd rather be anywhere but here. The sun beating down on him and his new yellow backpack strapped on his back as he walked around, self conscious of the small scars that showed up past the sleeves on his fingers and the ones up his neck that couldn't be hidden by clothing in Summer. 

People were giving him weird looks, either because of the scars or the hoodie he didn't know, but it made him uncomfortable. Iida walked next to him on his left, not unlike a bodyguard, and was standing there like a giant. He hadn't questioned his choice in clothing, probably because he already knew why, but the others did.

"Midoriya-kun, why are you wearing a black hoodie in this heat?" Yaoyorozu walked up to him as the class began to gather. Aizawa wasn't there to help him. The man had left him to "socialize" with his new classmates after he dropped him off, leaving instructions to Iida that they should "have fun". 

Hypocrite.

For some reason, doubted that most of these kids knew sign language, and he didn't feel like exerting the extra effort to pull his notebook from his bag and waste paper. "I like this hoodie," He responded in a quiet raspy voice that she had to lean in to hear.

"Well, alright. But if you get too hot I'm sure we could find you a normal shirt. Okay?" She said.

Izuku nodded to her concern, feeling his face flush a little. They were all so kind.

As time went by, more students showed up. Todoroki couldn't come because he was visiting his mother and Bakugo wasn't there either. Something about not wanting to be seen in public with shitty extras. Whatever that meant.

Ururaka expressed the same concern as Yaoyorozu in his choice of clothes, but he'd been quick to ease her worry with the same response he'd given the others. 

Once everyone was there Iida stood at the front of them and started working on a way to get everyone organized. That was when Ururaka and Izuku were left behind together. Izuku, who was only there to "socialize", was left behind by the people he was supposed to be socializing. Whatever. At least Ururaka was still with him.

She shrugged and they started walking around the base level of the mall. It was a crowded day and all the faces were beginning to blend together in Izuku's mind. As he was trying to work out his growing migraine, Ururaka took that time to ask a question that had probably been on a few people's mind. 

"Hey, Midoriya?" Izuku stopped to look over at her and saw she had stopped walking and was now staring at the ground in front of her feet with a concentrated look, brow furrowed thoughtfully and eyes sharp. "Why don't you ever smile?"

Izuku's brain stopped working for a moment before his mind caught up with what exactly she just said. He frowned in confusion. 

"You never smile. Even when you seem to be in a good mood, you never even give a small one. It's like you don't even know how. Or is it because you don't like us?" She asked. 

Ururaka finally looked up at him, tears pricked at her eyes at the mere thought that Izuku would hate her, patiently waiting for his answer, even though it looked like his answer would hurt her.

Izuku frantically shook his head. It wasn't that he didn't like them, they were fine. It was just that he didn't really know how to talk to people. He'd never had friends before, at least from everything he remembered. Bakugo's blow up the other day coming to mind before he quickly pushed it back again to focus on what was going on. He just didn't think he deserved all these nice people. No one has ever been this nice to him before leaving. 

He had to show her that it wasn't her fault.

This had to be worth the paper, right? Izuku frantically pulled out his notebook and flipped to a blank page while Ururaka stood there confused. Grabbing at the pencil in the side pocket of his backpack he started writing.

"I don't hate you, I swear! I don't hate any of you! I just don't know how I should react. You're all being so kind to me. I don't think I even can smile. It's not you I swear. I'm just weird."

Ururaka read the note as he face contorted with shock and then morphed to confusion. "You... don't know how to smile?"

Izuku shrugged his shoulders and let his arm hang limp with the notebook in hand. 

"But..-but that's awful!" She exclaimed, making him flinch in surprise. "How can you not know how to smile? Haven't you ever been happy before?" She looked desperate. "Here. Try with me." Ururaka put her index fingers to the side of her mouth and she smiled, showing her white teeth. 

Brows furrowed, Izuku tucked the pencil into his pocket and the notebook under his arm and copied her movements. It must not have looked right because the girl frowned at his attempt. Izuku gave up and settled his face into a grimace. He whispered a small apology and looked down at the ground. 

The only noise was the sound of the bustling people around them. Normal people. People who didn't have a problem with being happy. People who could smile freely like Ururaka and Yamada and Nezu. Why couldn't he do that too? Why was it so hard? Maybe it was just because he was weird. 

"Midoriya-kun." Ururaka's voice was flat, but he could almost hear the determination. He looked up to see it on her face. "Don't worry! I'll make you smile!"

The shock must've shown on his face because the determination only grew. 

"You wait here! I'm gonna go found something that'll be sure to make you smile! Don't move!" And just like that Izuku was left alone. 

Even with all the people around, he felt even more lonely.

Izuku shifted his feet uncomfortably and held his now closed notebook to his chest with his eyes cast onto the ground. He really shouldn't have come here. Why was Aizawa so insistent that he hang out with these people. They were kind, but he didn't really know how to react. 

With his mind lost in his thoughts, and his headache slowly growing, he didn't notice the person next to him until an arm was draped over his shoulders and a raspy rough voice in his ear made his blood chill. 

"Hey brat, funny seeing you here after you ditched us," A familiar voice said. Izuku didn't think he'd ever felt more rigid and cold in his life. 

Suddenly, the beating sun didn't matter and his headache was the least of his problems.


	16. Confrontation with Fear

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Self hatred is common, but if unnoticed it can only grow.

Izuku sat down on the ledge in front of a bunch of plants. Shigaraki didn't even need to keep his hand on his neck, the mere presence of the man was enough to make Izuku's body lock and tremble.

Even so, the hand around his nape squeezed with no small amount of force, constricting Izuku's breathing and keeping him from hyperventilating or causing a scene. Izuku kept his eyes on his lap where the notebook sat under his tight locked arms. If the man next to him thought this notebook was important and filled with analysis, he was wrong. It was just a notebook for communication. But he'd never tell Shigaraki that.

"This is nice. Don't you think, Brat?" Shigaraki's grated voice said. 

"What do you want?" Izuku whispered. His voice still wasn't as strong as it should be, but it was level and calm, despite his increasing fear. 

"Oh so you talk again? That's cool. I was wondering when you speak up again," The man purred in his ear and sent a chill down his spine. Shigaraki sat back, hand still on his neck, and hummed. "Right now, the hero killer pisses me off the most. More than you actually, which is surprising because I really missed my toy. And that's what my problem is. It's like suddenly everyone is obsessed with that stupid hero killer. You're our analyst; what do you think the difference is between us, Brat?"

So he wanted him to answer his questions, huh? 

Izuku took as deep as a breath as he could, sans focused on the threatening hand that could kill him at any moment. "Despite having known you for so many years, I don't understand you. You or your goals. And besides, I've never agreed with anything you do."

The hand tightened just a fraction but Shigaraki didn't stop him. "The hero killer and I have something in common. We're inspired by All Might and the good heroes around us. He a maniac, but he doesn't destroy stuff just because it sounds fun. Even if the way he acted was wrong, he held true to his beliefs. That's the difference." Izuku didn't know it was possible, but he probably tensed more with the amount of strength Shigaraki was putting into closing off his air pipe. 

Izuku had just spoken more then than he had done for the past few days in speech therapy. Maybe if he made it out of this alive Recovery Girl would go easy on him and not make him sing those notes on the scale?

It was getting harder to breathe. Maybe he was going to die here? Would that really be too bad? Izuku wasn't really sure. He was honestly terrified at the moment. He could practically hear the horrific smile on Shigaraki's face. "It's him. The problem is All Might. Oh I'm so glad we had this chat. I feel better. I can't thank you enough, Pet."

Izuku decided.

He didn't want to die.

His hands reached up, pulling on Shigaraki's with the strength he didn't have. He was suffocating. 

He didn't want to die. 

He didn't want to die. 

He didn't want to die. 

He didn't want to die!

"Oh? Don't struggle now! Unless you want to die," Shigaraki's voice cut through the ringing in his ears. Tears pricked the corner of his closed eyes and his jaw locked shut. 

Someone save me!

"Uhh, Midoriya?" His eyes snapped open to see Ururaka standing in front of him, brows furrowed in confusion as she held a plastic bag at her side. Primal fear shot through his core. She looked between the two of them and blinked. "Is that a friend? No, that can't be right."

Shigaraki was looking at her now. 

"Hey wait. Let go of him," Her voice shook. She moved to take a step forward.

Adrenaline rushing, he said as loud as he could with panic still caught in his voice. "No! Don't come closer!" Ururaka looked even more terrified. 

For a moment it felt like Shigaraki was going to kill him anyway and kill her just to get at him. That he'd go on a rampage until someone finally called the heroes to take care of him. That none of them would make it out of this alive. 

Then the hand was gone. 

Shigaraki flew his arms up in a placating manner, and smiled. Izuku gently held his neck, coughing and hacking up a lung. His chest and stomach ached and his throat felt gravely. Again. Just great.

"Oh! You're here with a friend. I didn't know. Sorry about that," Shigaraki said chipper and then turned his voice cold. "I'd be careful if I were you, Brat. Watch your back."

Shigaraki stood up, placing his hands in his pocket and turned his back on them, walking away. Once far enough, Ururaka ran the rest of the small distance towards him and started checking on him. Izuku kept his gaze on his lap, the notebook now had dents from how tightly he was holding it. 

"Midoriya-kun are you alright? Midoriya-kun!" She had her hand on his shoulder. The world was getting farther away and the only thing he could feel was the hand on his shoulder, gently shaking him.

His breathing picked up to borderline hyperventilation. Everything was so far away. Everything hurt. Every cut, bruise, scrape, incision, and injury. His skin felt like it was on fire. Izuku could almost feel the hot breath on his neck. 

There was cotton in his ears and he couldn't hear anything. Uraraka's voice was miles away by now.

Where was he again? It was so dark. Was he back in his room? It felt like that. Back in rags and dirty bandages. He was so afraid. Hot tears escaped his eyes finally and he rocked back and forth, hands clasping around his ears.

Why did the gods hate him? 

Stay quiet. 

Don't be too loud.

They'll come back if they hear you.

It hurts.

It hurts.

It hurts.

"Midoriya!" Something heavy landed on each of his shoulders, grounding him. The voice was firm but gentle. A hint of concern. He focused on it.

"Midoriya, can you hear me?" The voice asked. He gave a small nod. "Okay. Focus on my voice, alright? Everything will be okay. Do you remember where you are? You're at the mall, remember? With our classmates. You're okay. Just keep breathing. In and out. Deep breathes. Follow my lead, alright? Eyes on me, Midoriya."

Izuku copied the loud breathing of the voice speaking to him. In and out. In and out. Over and over. His vision came back to him and the darkness receded. His eyes fell on Iida, who had both hands on his shoulders as he kneeled down to Izuku's eye level. 

The boy's face was painted with concern and relief that he was calming down. Izuku kept breathing. The panic was slowly loosening its tight hold on his body and the murky waters that threatened to drown him in his anxiety was gone too.

"Better?" Iida asked. Izuku nodded and then hesitantly looked around him. The whole class was there, sans Bakugo and Todoroki who hadn't come with them. They all looked at him with the same expression as Iida, but they stood a ways off, as not to crowd him. He was grateful for that.

Ururaka held her phone to her ear and was talking to the person on the other line. He didn't get the chance to get her attention to ask who when Iida spoke again. "Midoriya-kun, what happened?"

Snapped back to attention, he looked back to Iida who had yet to take his hands off his shoulders. 

He looked down and saw his notebook still in his lap. Opening it to a fresh page and pulling out a pencil, he wrote one word.

Shigaraki

Iida's face was grim with understanding. "We should call the police."

"Already on it," Ururaka spoke up. Oh. So that's who was on the phone with her. Looking at her closely, he saw the plastic bag that she had been carrying earlier at her feet. She bought something? Looking at the rest, they also had bags of stuff at their feet. 

He kinda felt disappointed. He didn't get to buy anything with the money Aizawa had given him.

An hour later he sat in an interview room with the detective that had asked him questions at the hospital. He was really nice. Izuku thinks his name is Tsukauchi, but he really can't be sure. 

The detective asked him a myriad of questions about the events that had happened. Izuku had tried writing them down but the detective stopped him and said, "If you still can't talk you can use JSL. Eraser told me that you're learning." In truth he didn't know if he could do either. His hands were still slightly shaking from his episode earlier.

Tsukauchi asked him questions like "Where did the incident occur?" "Why were you at the mall that day?" "Did Shigaraki say what he wanted from you?" and more.

He answered them the best he could. Tsukauchi said it was fine, but he felt like he should be doing more.

After the interview, that lasted about two hours from Izuku's estimation, he was led outside by Tsukauchi and this officer with a cat head. Izuku's hand itched to write about it, but at the same time he was terrified of reaching for his notebook. 

"Izuku!" His head whipped up at the sound of Aizawa's voice. The man was running towards him with Yamada at his heels. Under protective rage was concern that only people who spent enough time with the man would know how to decipher. Yamada didn't bother hiding his fear, though and hugged him the moment he was close enough.

Izuku tried not to flinch too much. The whole "positive human contact" thing was new and unfamiliar. He let himself stand there until hesitantly wrapping his arms around him.

"We were so worried about you, listener!" Yamada said. He could hear Aizawa thanking Tsukauchi for watching over him from behind. 

"It's no worries, Eraser. He's a good kid. Just take care of him, yeah? He always seems to slip through," He said the last part in a whisper. Guilt snuck into his heart. It was his fault he was kidnapped in the first place, wasn't it? And he probably would've gotten kidnapped again if it weren't for Ururaka.

He was such an idiot.


	17. Fragile Hope

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aizawa is either losing his game or Izuku is just too good at catching on.

Izuku didn't want to be there, but really when did he ever want to be in public. This sucked in so many ways. He didn't even want to come on this stupid training camp, but Aizawa had made him come because he was apparently apart of the class now.

It was a class of nineteen students, two of which having been expelled at the beginning of the year and then one of the chairs being filled by Izuku. 

He knew his foster guardian had expelled them for not having potential, one of them being a pervert and the other not up to training. It was harsh, but Izuku didn't really see any fault in that reasoning. He was sure that wherever those students were now they were okay.

He really couldn't believe that it had been a month since his escape and rescue. For such a short time he gained a little healthy weight back. He was still unnaturally thin, just... less thin. It was progress okay? 

Izuku had also been keeping up with training. Aizawa was teaching him more about knives and swords while Snipe taught him how to shoot a postal. He didn't have any solid evidence, but he thinks Aizawa was going to teach him how to use his capture weapon soon. It was all logical if he wanted to be the world's first Quirkless hero.

He'd gained a bit of muscle and could talk a little better. He couldn't scream or shout, but he could quietly speak. More progress. Recovery Girl had told him that if he kept up the training he would be able speak at a louder volume soon.

Though he still didn't see the point in taking him on this trip with a bunch of rambunctious people. From the point Aizawa had told him about it he didn't understand and he still didn't. He knew he'd be training physically, but from what he'd been told (overheard in the staff room) was that the kids were going to be training with their Quirks. 

He didn't see the point in that if he didn't even have a special superpower. Other than helping other students train or making observations, he didn't know how he was supposed to help. 

The scenery outside the window passed as the bus drove along the highway. It was such a nice day outside. 

Aizawa was definitely planning something. 

He knew it. When things are nice there was always something planned. He did it around the apartment a lot. It was never anything big, but small things that were supposed to keep Izuku prepared for anything. 

After talking with the class (usually one sided) he learned that his guardian used his "logical rouses" on his students too. On a larger scale. Izuku wasn't nervous at all, but he was nervous for the others. He knew when to expect Aizawa was about to try something. They didn't. Which was honestly surprising consicering how many times he pulled them.

Izuku knew exactly what he was planning the moment they stopped at a cliff for a "break and breather". Nonetheless he got off the bus, but stood next to his guardian. It came to him as two of the Pussy Cats hero team came out of a bright red car and started acting suspicious with their cat themed hero costumes and overly catty ways. As much as he loved cats, neko people made him anxious.

Pixie-Bob. 

Her Quirk was Earth Flow. A Quirk that helped her manipulate the ground and earth. They were on the Pussy Cat's territory, not too far from their lodge.

Damn.

He knew exactly what Aizawa was planning.

He looked up at Aizawa to see him smirking under his capture scarf. The sadist. "They don't suspect anything. It's almost sad," Izuku said.

Aizawa looked down at him with amusement twinkling in his eyes. "Should've known that you wouldn't fall for it."

Izuku tucked his hands in the pockets of his favorite black hoodie. He's been wearing it over his uniform lately because he likes the hood. Pulling out a hair tie, he tugged his shoulder length hair up and tied it into a half up half down style to keep it out of his eyes. A few stray curls fell from the tie and framed the side of his face. "Of course I wouldn't fall for it. I'm already used to your awful tricks."

"Awful? They're not that bad. Are they?" He asked in exasperated fake hurt.

"Yes. I'd suggest getting better or else the others might start to catch onto them too," He advised. Izuku watched Aizawa's smirk grow.

"Duly noted," He paused thoughtfully. "Go with them so they don't get themselves killed. She's about to collapse the cliff. Might wanna start now if you don't want to get covered in dirt."

Izuku hummed. "Good idea. Thanks," He said as he ran forward towards the railing without waiting for a reply. He saw his classmates' stunned and startled faces as they watched him leap forward onto the railing and throw himself off the edge towards the trees below.

It was just as his body was in the air that he heard the shaking of the ground his feet had left not only a second earlier. His classmates' cries were lost to the rushing air in his ears as Izuku, ever the quick thinker, pulled a hidden backup knife from his back pocket and used it to land in a tree. Aizawa had advised him that you could never be too prepared and Izuku agreed with that logic wholeheartedly without doubt. It was something that the others would have to learn quickly if they wanted to make it as Pro-heroes.

He twisted his body and shifted his weight as to not dislocate his shoulder as the knife stabbed a tree's trunk. He swung forward and planted his booted feet onto a solid branch. Once he was sure that he wasn't going to fall, he pulled the knife out of the bark and stuck it back in his pocket. Izuku looked down and huffed as he watched his groaning classmates stumble to stand up. They were covered in dirt and mud from the fall. 

Some looked like they had a better fall than others, but he was still disappointed in their lack of quick reflexes. Yeah, he was trained to use knives and to be quick and light footed months before they had any real training, but it was the middle of the school year. They should at least have better reflexes than that.

Drawing a deep sigh, Izuku climbed as high as he could go and peeked out over the tall heads of the trees. He could see the lodge from his position and marked the distance and direction as he climbed down. On the way he heard Mandalay, one of the Pussy Cats, shout that they had until noon to get there or else they wouldn't get lunch.

It caused more of his classmates to groan.

Some of the students were arguing over which way to go and what to do by the time he descaled the whole trunk and he waited on the last branch for someone to notice he was there.

Maybe someone would ask "Where's that quiet kid?"

He was probably fooling himself, but no one had noticed him yet so that was a win. It meant that he Aizawa's stealth was rubbing off on him. 

"I should've known Aizawa-sensei was going to pull something like this," Iida said. He looked over to the students that were arguing and scowled. "Mina-san, we will not be throwing someone into the air to see where to go. Kaminari-kun, we will not be dying here. Aizawa-sensei wouldn't leave us here for dead."

Kaminari didn't look completely placated, but nonetheless stopped shouting. 

Seeing as no one would notice him anytime soon, he jumped to the ground and brushed off his pants. Iida looked over at him and looked like he was just reminded to scold someone because that's exactly what he was about to do. "Midoriya-kun! There you are! What you just did was dangerous and reckless. You shouldn't jump off cliffs. You could get seriously injured!" 

Iida stopped in front of him, eyes sharp and looking for an answer. His uniform was disheveled and covered in dirt from the fall that he'd yet to brush himself off from. 

"I didn't want to get dirty. I also know which way to go. The lodge is Northeast about five miles," He said. 

"How do you know?" Iida looked baffled.

"Saw it from a tree. We should stick together so we don't get lost. There's no way we're going to make it there for lunch, but if we start heading off now we can get there in time for dinner," Izuku replied.

The class rep really needed to learn poker face, the look he was sporting made him look stupid. 

He regained his composure and started to guide everyone into a formation. Izuku was up front as a navigator and held his knife once again in his hand as he led them into the forest. 

Maybe this trip wouldn't be so bad, Izuku thought hopefully.

Hope could be so fragile.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sry this took so long, I was trying to get ahead of schedule. School has been chaotic and I’ve had a lot of work to do. I hope this chapter was satisfactory.


	18. Self hate

Izuku led the group of tired teens through the remainder of the forest. His knife was dirty and needed to be sharpened, but overall was still in good condition considering he'd been stabbing the eyes of giant dirt monsters. 

His favorite hoodie got clawed across the arm. The claws of one of the dirt monsters seeking revenge for its lost eye. He probably needed stitches now, but nothing he couldn't do himself with the medical kit he stowed away in his backpack. His classmates expressed worry, but he waved them off. 

He'd been on the front lines, of course he got hurt. Some of the others had gotten similar injuries, but they didn't have the minor protection of longer sleeves.

Plus, new scar to his ever increasing collection.

The area of the wound was bloody, but had clotted up and stopped bleeding quickly. As long as he didn't move it too much, he was fine. Though, Izuku was pretty upset that his hoodie was all dirty and bloody now. He'd have to stitch it up later.

They stumbled out of the forest, Izuku coming out first looking more tired than usual, and everyone else behind him nearly collapsing onto the ground.

The Pussy Cats and Aizawa stood by the doors of the lodge, the strange boy from earlier standing nearby.

"You said that would only take three hours," He heard Sero complain.

"I guess we timed it on how long it'd take us. Sorry," Mandalay said.

More complaints followed and Izuku sat down on the ground. His legs ached and his eyes were watery from all the dust. His rumbling stomach could wait, it wasn't like he hadn't felt hunger before.

"Mew mew mew mew mew mew mew, I thought it would take you kits even longer! But you did much better against my dirt monsters than I thought you would. You guys were seriously great," Pixie Bob said. Izuku sighed as he tried cleaning the dirt off his knife with his sleeve, blinking rapidly to clear the dust. "Especially... the four of you!"

Izuku looked up to find the hero pointing at him and the three boys around him, Iida, Todoroki, and Bakugo. His brow furrowed in confusion and he quirked a brow.

"It seems like you've had quite a bit of experience," She went on. Izuku tensed when he saw her lick her lips. 

"I call dibs on these kittens! I'll groom them myself!" Pixie Bob flew forward and Izuku held his knife up instinctively. The pro flitted around the, avoiding the sharp object. He saw her wink at him and then he, abruptly, became aware it was just a tease.

Izuku relaxed and lowered the knife. His gaze was caught by the boy standing by Mandalay and he pointed in his direction, then signed to her. "Who is that? What's a kid doing here?"

She paused to read his hands before turning around and spotting the boy. "Oh, him?"

"Ah, this little guy? This is my cousin's son who lives with us now. Don't be shy Kota, say hi. You're going to be around them for the next week," Mandalay answered.

Izuku tilted his head and stood up, placing the knife back in his pocket before making his way over. He stopped about three feet away before crouching down and holding his hand out to shake. 

"Izuku," He said. The kid already knew he was UA, no point in introducing himself with that.

He sensed the attack before it came. The boy's fist curling as his arm tensed, the small narrow of his eyes as he was about to reel back. The kid was fast, but Izuku spent his whole life observing people for incoming attacks or hidden hostility.

Just as the kid was about to hit his dick, Izuku grabbed his wrist tightly and held his free hand up as defense. It was more instinctual than actual processed thought.

Kota's eyes widened a fraction as Izuku's face was practiced blankly. Don't show them what you're thinking.

Izuku blinked and looked down at his hand, still holding Kota still before he let go in a startle. He sucked in a breath as the boy took his wrist back and cradled it, looking up at Izuku still in shock. As if baffled by Izuku's reaction. Honestly he was just as surprised.

Izuku silently stammered before speaking. "Y-You shouldn't try to hit people. You don't know what kind of reaction it will provoke," He said. 

The boy nodded before scurrying away. Mandalay looked slightly panicked. Izuku shouldn't have tried to introduce himself, it always ended badly when he tried to instigate conversation. But Yamada had told him that it was good to introduce himself to new people. That it was polite. He just wanted to try it.

Biting his lip, he walked back to his classmates. 

"Are you okay, Midoriya-kun," Iida asked with concern. "You look pale."

"I'm fine," He said softly.

Iida looked at him with uncertainty and apprehension that he could feel radiating off of him in waves.

Having people worry about him was a new feeling that he was still trying to get used to. 

It was an hour later that they were given dinner, which, in his classmates' opinion, was better than what gods ate. The food sat warmly in his stomach, causing drowsiness to come over his arms and legs, and making his head foggy with fatigue. He didn't care about whatever happened that his obnoxious peers thought was worth all the world, he just wanted to nap. 

Just as he was going to get up and head upstairs for the night, he was immediately metaphorically smacked awake by what Mandalay said. 

"Alright, don't worry about the dishes tonight. All of you go wash up in the baths outside!"

Communal baths.

Damnit.

Izuku was now wide awake. Goodbye easy rest. 

Not wasting another moment, Izuku sped off to the showers. He stripped off his cloths and washed off his sore muscles. The dirt and grime fell away, along with the blood on his arm. It had stopped bleeding and sat as a scorching red cut on his arm. It'd need stitches, but it wasn't infected, therefore it was an issue that could wait until later. He left the showers just as the other early students made it in to wash off, and was successfully the first one to the outdoor baths. The idea of others seeing him naked made him nauseous. 

His mind coursed back to the events earlier. He didn't understand why Aizawa wanted him to come on this trip, he understood that his guardian was planning on him practicing his martial arts and analyzing his classmates, but he could've done martial arts training just as well back at UA, and Ragdoll could analyze his peers with her Quirk with Mandalay helping to relay the information to them. So he was useless here. Like always. Analysis was his only useful trait and there was someone else here that could do it better than him because it was literally her job. 

Maybe Aizawa just wanted to keep him close? Keep him out of trouble? Was he really that much of a burden? He did impede on him and Yamada's lives by intruding. He wasn't even supposed to be there.

Izuku sunk deeper in the water and hugged his arms self consciously. His jagged scars felt strange against his equally scared hands.

What if he was just delaying the inevitable? The truth that one day Aizawa might get bored of him and kick him out of his life for being too much trouble. What if Aizawa was already planning it and was just waiting for the right moment? 

Immersed in his thoughts, Izuku barely noticed when Iida came out to the baths. 

"Midoriya-kun?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey my guys. Hope this was to your liking. Thank you all for the attention this is getting. I honestly didn’t think I’d get much attention on this website. I’m going to be ending the story soon, and then starting a new one. But that’s not happening until January or February. Also, I’m not posting next week due to Christmas and family reasons. I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas/Hanukkah. And if you don’t celebrate either of those... happy winter break. 
> 
> See y’all later!


	19. Exposed Emotions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Izuku feels his anxiety creeping up his arms, his legs, making his breath stop short.
> 
> Breath.
> 
> He looked down at the young boy cradled in his arms, breathing soft and steadily. Asleep.
> 
> He had to find Mandalay.

Izuku watched Iida step over his towel and come to the edge of the pool. His glasses are missing, presumably in one of his bags. Iida gets in next to him and Izuku could see his tense muscles relax in the heated water.

"You were gone so quick, we didn't even know where you went," Iida said.

"Sorry," Izuku apologized quietly.

"No, it's fine. I was just wondering if you were really okay. You said you were earlier, but I just want to be sure. You know you can talk to me, right?"

Izuku was silent for a few beats. "Thanks."

"We're friends, aren't we? That's what friends do," The boy smiled down at him. Izuku wished he could smile like that. So genuinely. Carefree. It sorta made him jealous.

Soon enough, the rest of the boys joined. Some stayed by the edge of the water, just enjoying the company that was offered, while others made a scene and were just simply being obnoxious. Izuku watched Bakugo relax at the far end of the water, glaring at anyone who looked at him. He wondered what was on the other boy's mind.

Kaminari eventually came up to him and tried to drag Izuku into the "fun", which comprised of splashing water at other's faces. But before he could, Iida shouted and drew everyone's attention to him and Mineta.

The short sized pervert was standing by the divider to the male and female's baths, looking up with a longing. Izuku sighed and got out of the pool while everyone was still focused on Mineta. If the perve started to climb, he'd knock him down.

There was a decent sized rock by the tree that Izuku picked up. The weight was on par with one of his knives, and wasn't all that sharp. He wouldn't actually throw it at Mineta. Just around him. 

Hopefully it would be enough to startle him into dropping.

Izuku turned back and saw Iida beginning to advance Mineta. "Stop this this instant! What your doing is not only demeaning to the girls, but also yourself! This is disgraceful!"

"You're just a prude, Iida," Mineta said. "After all, walls are meant to be climbed!" And just like that, the boy was clambering up the wall, using his Quirk as he climbed.

Raising his hand, Izuku squinted his right eye, getting ready to throw the moment he had aim, but a small head peeked out from the top of the wall just as he was about to let go.

"Before you become a hero, you should learn to become a decent human," The young boy's voice chastised.

Izuku stopped short and dropped the rock as Kota slapped Mineta off the wall. Well this was a waste of time. Maybe he should've stayed in the water. Nobody was paying him any attention, but he felt exposed.

Just as he took a step towards the pool, a small yelp drew his focus back to the wall as Kota tripped over the side.

Goddamn it.

Izuku rushed forward, running up the wall skillfully. His feet made a clambering sound as he made his way up and caught Kota by the head. No longer having any momentum, he kicked off the wall with the boy in his arms. The ground rushed towards him and he landed in a summersault.

"Ayyy! Good catch, Midoriya!" He heard Kaminari shout.

"Is he okay?" Sato shouted.

Looking down at the boy cradled in his arms, he noted the small trickle of blood coming from his nose. Izuku stood up from his crouch and turned towards his male classmates. A few of them were staring at Izuku in silence, shook and confused playing on their face.

A few of them looked concerned.

At first he thought they were looking at Kota, but their eyes were very pointedly drawn at his arms and legs.

At his scars.

Izuku opened his mouth to say something. Anything. To explain his scars? They already knew where they came from. Tell them not to worry about it? They would probably worry more. Tell them that he's okay? How can she tell them that if he didn't even know if he was okay himself? He pulled the unconscious child closer as he closed his mouth. Brow pinched in worry, he picked up a downed towel, wrapped it around his waist, and ran out back inside, leaving all the others in silence.

Kota didn't stir once as he wandered the building for Mandalay. She would know what to do about the boy. And hopefully Aizawa told her about his past situation and she would have more tact than his classmates. Izuku shifted his arms self consciously, moving Kota into one arm as he adjusted the towel around his waist. It felt weird to be so exposed like this.

His skin crawled at the feeling of the cool air around him, nothing to protect him from the indignant stares of others.

Why did it matter so much anyway if he had scars? They weren't that bad. Sure, they ached a bit when it was too cold, but he's gotten used to it. They were a testament to the pain he'd gone through. A show that he survived.

Izuku stumbled as phantom pain shot up his legs. The tile ground felt harsh and the soles and heels of his skinned feet throbbed with the memory of the cruel training he was forced to endure. His mouth felt dry and his vision was swimming. There wasn't enough protection on his arms to keep him safe from oncoming hits or slashes.

The boy in his arms breath made his anxiety halt. Kota was breathing steadily through his slightly ajar mouth. The thin trail of blood from his nose was dried up and slowly flaking off. His face was set in a peaceful expression, without a hint of the anger or aggression he'd shown earlier.

Right.

He had to find Mandalay.

His gait was measured, one foot in front of the other in a slow but reluctant walk. He took deep breaths as he went, trying to focus on where he was and cradling Kota close.

Soon he found a room where he could hear voices from behind the door. They were muffled and he couldn't make out any distinguishable words, but he could still hear Aizawa and Mandalay's voices. What they were talking about, he didn't know, but Kota needed his family. Izuku took a deep calming breath, and knocked on the door.

The voices halted, pausing midsentence.

"Come in!" Mandalay shouted through the door.

Izuku turned the handle and peeked his head inside. Mandalay was sitting on a blue couch in the middle of the room with Aizawa standing next to her, holding one of Izuku's notebooks. They must've been going over the plans for tomorrow. Slowly, he opened the door wider, showing the little boy he held.

"Kota! What happened?" Mandalay panicked. She flew off the couch and ran over to the door, pulling off her paw gloves as she came.

"He fell off the wall between the baths," Izuku explained quietly as Kota was gingerly taken from his arms.

"Thank you," the heroine said as she walked back to the couch.

"It was nothing. He stopped Mineta from peeking over the wall, the least I could do is return the favor." Izuku stepped into the room, hesitating in the threshold. The exposed feeling was back. The feeling of the scars lacing up his legs and torso made his skin crawl as he shuffled his weight.

"Eraserhead told me there was someone in you're class that needed watching. So I sent Kota up to keep watch. Guess it was the right call," Mandalay said as she laid Kota down on the couch, wiping the blood from his nose with a handkerchief she fished from her skirt's pocket. "He's fine. The rush of the fall knocked him out. It's a shame, though. That he hates heroes so much."

If that didn't catch Izuku's attention, he doesn't know what did.

"What do you mean?" Izuku asked cautiously.

"Have you heard of the hero duo Waterhose?"

Izuku nods and tries not to remember how he'd heard of them. It had been a very painful day.

"Kota had only been five years old at the time. How are you supposed to tell a five year old that his parents won't ever be coming home? And everyone around him keeps saying that they had a heroic death without him thinking that they abandoned him?" Mandalay ran her hand over the little boy's forehead, her face pinched in a solemn expression.

Izuku felt a wave of grief fall over him. He looked to the boy on the couch sadly. Sure, he'd met people who hated heroes. He'd been surrounded by them ever since he was little. Cruel monsters who hated society for making them what they are and the heroes who protected it. But he'd never met someone as young as Kota who hated heroes. Especially when his own parents were heroes themselves. It was somewhat of a harsh realization for him.

"He's so young, but holds so much hate. It almost feels like he hates me most of the time."

"Izuku," Aizawa spoke up. He'd been silent through this whole ordeal. Izuku looked up at his guardian and saw the man holding a pensive look. But once their eyes met, the man's face softened. "I think it's time for you and the others to head to sleep. You have a long day ahead of you tomorrow. Best you be rested for it."

Nodding, he made his way back to the door, but was stopped by Aizawa once more.

"Izuku." He turned around slowly and the man gave him a delicate smile. "Goodnight."

Dumbfounded, Izuku blinked. He took a deep breath and said softly, "Goodnight."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry that I've been gone so much, Holidays are a hard time to work around. My family gets busy around the end of the year, even though we don't really go anywhere. We're mostly an introverted family and most of our family parties are just close family. But it's still socially draining that I have little to no time or motivation to write.


	20. Icky

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ever feel like you’re being watched? That feeling doesn’t leave you for hours.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The title for the chapter probably won't make since until the end, and I give full permission to anyone who wants the say "roll credits". I love Cinemasins, I've been watching them for years. Even though they've sold out to sponsorships, they're still good.

The pen raced across the paper as he jotted down his next thoughts, mind always analyzing as he saw. Jirou would need to work on her stamina, as she was beginning to tire out this early.

He updated her stats in his notebook. 

Aoyama was going to need to work on his durability and pain tolerance, as he had been going to the outhouse every few minutes to deal with his stomach ache. 

He updated his stats as well.

Izuku paused and bit the end on his pen, looking around while contemplating what he should do next. 

Most of his notes on his classmates were done, and he really wanted to get out of this tree and start doing his own training. Aizawa said that his training would be with knives and stealth, hence part of the reason he was hiding in a tree. The other part was because he just really didn't want to talk to people.

He could see Kota a little ways off, looking around at his classmates angrily. If he was searching for Izuku, he didn't know, but the young boy was glancing around as if looking for someone.

Izuku let himself stare for a moment more before his phone buzzed. Yamada had getten him one, saying something about spoiling him. He didn't really know if he deserved it, but he was grateful either way. He pulled the device and saw it was a text from his guardian. 

Aizawa: Get out of that tree and follow me. We're training.

Now he might've asked how the man knew he was up there, if it weren’t for the fact that this man had the best hearing out of anyone he knew (save for Jiro and Shoji) despite living with the loudest man in the world. It was a gamble how the man could hear at all. Izuku knew from experience that Yamada's snoring could wake someone up immediatly. 

Pocketing his pen, he swung down and landed silently on the plush grass. Kota didn't even turn around.

Aizawa waved him over and they both started walking away from the others. The man had a troubled expression on his face, the one he made when he was worried about how Izuku would react to something. 

It made Izuku uneasy about what they would be doing.

"How do you feel about training more with knives?" Aizawa asked, peeking at him from the corner of his eye.

Izuku tensed a little.

Aizawa wouldn't force him to train like that. With concrete floors and glass shards. He wouldn't drive a knife through his shoulder just for training. 

Aizawa wouldn't hurt him. 

It still didn't erase the anxiety at the thought of training with someone else with knives. His guardian probably noticed his immediate discomfort and stopped walking. "Izuku, listen to me," He said as he kneeled down in front of him. "No matter what training we do, I'd never hurt you. Understand?"

Izuku nodded while biting his lip. He knew that whatever training they did, the worst he would have would be bruises and sore muscles, not broken bones and larcerations. 

"Will you be okay with training with knives today?" Aizawa asked calmly.

Another nod of confirmation and Aizawa reached into his pocket, pulling out a japanese tanto knife. He handed the sheathed weapon over and Izuku pulled it out. It was a black blade and steel edge, the black hilt was wrapped in a decorative dark green ribbon. 

"Alright. We'll start with swinging it in a frontward attack and later move onto swings and thrusts. Okay?" 

"Okay," Izuku said airily. He stared at the blade with uncertainty before following through with the action while Aizawa stood next to him, pulling his own knife from it's sheath on his lower back, and followed Izuku's motions.

They changed their swings every few minutes, Izuku getting more comfortable and confident as they practiced.

Eventually they went to sparing, starting off slowly, but gradually growing faster. Aizawa swung his knife in a slash to the left and Izuku ducked under, swiping the man's legs out from under him and going for a swing. Aizawa rolled out of the way into a crouch and swung his blade in a reverse grip. Izuku blocked, holding the knife in a hammer grip. 

Pushing him off, Izuku jumped and rolled to the side, keeping his feet light and quick. Aizawa seemed to catch on and charged at him with both strength and agility. He pushed his blade foreward in a stabbing motion, and Izuku blocked again, only this time, the knife was knocked out of Aizawa's hand.

It fell to the ground with a thump, and Aizawa was left open. Using the opportunity, Izuku attacked. He brought him down with a kick, and crouched over him, holding his knife to the man's throat.

He stayed there for a moment, panting tiredly as his guradian and teacher looked up at him with calm eyes. His eyebrows were slightly quirked upward, showing his surprise at being defeated. 

Izuku backed off, pulling away from him and standing back up. Aizawa stood up, and grabbed his knife from the grass, and got back into a fighting stance. He saw the smallest upturn of his lips. "Good. Let's try again."

He carded a hand through his hair, now noticing that his hair had fallen out of his hair tie. His forehead was beginning to sweat, and his arms ached, but he could keep going. He could always keep going.

Izuku silently ate his curry with his boistrous classmates beside him, shoveling their food into their mouths. The food wasn't awful persay, but it wansn't the best. Then again, any food was good food to Izuku. He ate bread and scraps for a majority of his life.

He tried to ignore the hairs on the back of his neck sticking up. Kota had been watching him all day. It was unnerving to be honest.

Taking a quick inconspicuous glance at his surroundings, he saw a small figure retreating into the trees. 

Strange. 

He hadn't seen the young boy eat anything all day. 

Izuku hastily finished his bowl before grabbing another and filling it with food. He took the spare chopsticks and followed after Kota. If it turned out that he had eaten, then Izuku would just eat the food himself. The younger boy's tracks were easy enough to find, seeing as they were fresh, and he kept a slow pace behind him. 

Call him curious, but he wanted to know where Kota was going.

The canopy of the trees above him whistled in the wind, carrying whispers of something unseen. It was eerily quiet, not another sound was heard other than the breeze in the leaves, and Kota's footsteps a good distance ahead. His own heartbeat was calmed, his breathing regulated, and his steps always light. Even so, the feeling of eyes on him never faded. He was probably just being skittish. 

Trees reached hanging hands out to him, brushing his arms as he walked on and making his cuts hurt more. Roots climbed onto the path and snagged at his feet, nearly making him trip a couple times. 

The more he walked, the more dense the forest bacame and the less light he had to see with, but even so, he kept his gaze on the tracks and his ears honed on the sound of the small boy's gait.

Where was he going?

He could still faintly see the heat of the food in whatever moonlight there still was, but the food was going to go cold soon, and he didn't want to be the reason that food was wasted because children generally don't like cold food.

Maybe Kota was walking to a treehouse? He'd read about those in books, but he'd never seen one in real life. It had said that they're made of wood and are nailed to a tree to make a small room up in the branches. Izuku doesn't know how that would work, though. Sure there are trees that could hold a room if it was built onto them, but rooms don't usually have branches going through them. And trees also don't have flat spaces to lay wood boards down to make a floor. 

Why would someone want to have a room in a tree anyway? Most trees aren't tall, and the ones in this forest are only moderatly high, so it wan't for the view. Privacy? But you can get privacy in a building if you find a small space that would fit you. Kota was defenitly tiny enough to fit in a crawl space. Izuku remembered when he was that small, he could fit in the small cabinets at the bar. 

Maybe it was just for the sake of having a personal space in a tree? But why? Wouldn't the structure of the space hurt the tree?

Kota does seem like the child who would like to have privacy in trees, if the way he spent the entire day watching Izuku from the treeline was any indication. Who would build him a treehouse, though? Mandalay doesn't come off as the kind of guardian that would want her charge to wander this far from their lodge, let alone build him a treehouse out here, and if Mandalay didn't condone it, then Pixie Bob, Ragdoll, and Tiger wouldn't go against her word.

Maybe Kota built it himself then?

It seemed feesable enough.

If he asked nicely, would he be able to see inside? Hopefully Kota wasn't still upset that he had caught his punch earlier. He was really interested in knowing how they work. 

Izuku barely noticed when the trees passed and he was walking up a slope of the mountain, but when he did he realized that Kota had stopped a distance away, sitting by the edge and looking out at the scenery beyond. He also noted the distinct lack of treehouses.

Damn.

He really got his hopes up. 

Making his presence known, he stepped out and into the younger boy's sight range. Kota jumped up, shock written on his face before it twisted into anger. "How did you find this place?!" He shouted, pointing a finger at Izuku.

His signing was limited due to the warm bowl of curry in his hand, but he finger spelled with the other that he'd followed his footsteps from the camp. 

"What? What the hell does that mean?"

So he doesn't know JSL. Shame. Izuku really didn't want to talk. Brow furrowed, he looked down at the bowl and pushed his arm out, offering it to the boy. Kota looked at it confused and then growled. "You followed me here just to give me curry?"

Izuku nodded.

"I don't want it, go away! I'm not hungry!" The sound of his stomach growling contradicted his words.

Frowning, he placed the bowl on the ground in case Kota changed his mind. The boy kind of reminded him of Bakugo, what with his brash attitude. At the same time though, he seemed so forlorn. A wistful air that followed him everywhere suffacated those who got too close. Izuku was hit by the sudden urge to just... help. 

He didn't know what to say though. 

"Are you deaf or something?! Leave!"

"What is this place?" Izuku asked softly, his voice still slightly weak. He looked out at the trees as they met the skyline, stars beginning to form in the sky and constalation marking the galaxy. 

"My secret hideout. Now go away," Kota huffed.

"It's beautiful," Izuku commented. 

"Are you done sight seeing, or are you just bad at listening to others."

"I've never met someone as young as you that hates heroes, but I guess it would be pretty naive to think that every kid loved them. I'm sorry about your parents, by the way. You have my condolances. They were good people." People. Because that's what they were. Heroes were just people, with hopes, dreams, strengths, and weaknesses. Limits. He could say they were good heroes. Because it would be true. But that's not what Kota would need to hear. In the mind of a small child, as Mandalay had said, having your parents taken away from you because they died saving others, is the same as them abandoning you. 

Izuku knows how it feels to be abandoned. 

"How did you-? Did Mandalay tell you that?! It's none of your business!" Kota shouted. 

"You're right. It's not. I'm butting into a situation that doesn't concern me, but I still have something to say."

"What? That they died a heroic dea-"

"That I'm sorry." Izuku cut the boy off, leaving him gaping. He gave him what he hoped was an empathetic and understanding gaze. "No one your age should know what it feels like to lose your parents. No one should tell you that your parents died an honorable death, when you're too young to even understand that. In the end, death is still death, and your parents died protecting someone else instead of being with you. So I'm sorry."

Izuku looked back at the sky when he saw tears beginning to form in the younger boy's eyes. 

"I can probably guess how you view hero society as a whole. That we're all just throwing our lives away to use our Quirks. Giving each other titles and catagorizing people. I guess part of that is true. There will always be someone who only wants to be a hero because of money and fame and power, and there will always be someone who wants to watch the world burn under their fingers, but there are good heroes. Heroes who put a stop to those people because they know it's right."

The breeze flew past Izuku, bringing a chill as it ruffled his hair. He could still feel eyes on him, but he tried to ignore it.

A small sniffle sounded from Kota, who was now glaring at the ground angrily. "You're all stupid. Wanting to be heroes just to die. What's the point? Just to use your Quirks?"

Izuku considered him for a moment before, "Well I'm Quirkless. I don't really have a Quirk to use." He ignored the small intake of air as Kota's head whipped up in favor of noting the pain beginning to form in his throat. "Being a hero, for most people, is just about wanting to help people. To save others and bring them hope for a future of happiness. I don't expect you to understand now, but you might later. The curry is still warm, I'd eat it before it got cold if I were you. I trust that you can find your way back."

He turned around and walked off before to boy could reply to him. His throat ached from all the talking he'd just done. It would've been so much easier if sign language was a required course in schools. Then he could communicate better without being in pain. There was a chance he might not be able to speak tomorrow. 

The forest seemed to whisper to him as he walked back, following his tracks from earlier. Warnings and cautions blew through the leaves. 

Izuku normally liked forests. Of course he'd never been in one, but he, like treehouses, had read about them in books. The tranquil peace that they were supposed to bring was absent, and in it's place an eerie feeling of anxiety that crept into his chest. 

He nearly booked it back to camp, coming across his classmates who were cleaning the dishes together. Sighing in relief, he went to help them, picking up his discarded bowl and bringing it over to the sinks. Uraraka saw him and smiled teasingly. "Now where did you run off to? You weren't trying to skip out on chores, were you?"

The water ran over his hands as he scrubbed, and he shook his head in reply. 

Frowning, Izuku looked back out at the forest. He couldn't shake the feeling that someone was watching him. 

The feeling followed him to lights out.

As he crawled under the blankets to his futon, he stared at the ceiling in thought. The training camp was a trip meant to be secluded and under the radar. Very few people knew they were there. None of the students were given the location, and only the teachers invovled knew about it. Not even Yamada knew where they were. 

Nezu knew of course, but he was the only one still at the school who knew about the training camp. 

If something happened, backup wouldn't get here until it was already too late. There were only six heroes here to protect fourty students, who only had half a years worth of training, sans Izuku who had been training with combat months before the school year. It was still a lot of kids for six people to protect. 

They didn't even have authorization to use Quirks, and most of the people here relied a little too much on their powers. 

Something icky roiled in his gut, and he turned onto his side, pulling his legs up to his chest and pulling the blanket over his head to make it darker. The dark was always safer. If you can't see whats in the dark, it can't see you either. 

He breathed deep breaths for a good ten minutes before he felt his heart slow, bringing him out of his near panic attack. The feeling in his gut still hadn't left, though. 

'What ifs' coursed through his head and he screwed his eyes shut tightly. Something could happen, and no one would be there to help them before someone was hurt. No one. They're all just sitting ducks here.

The hours passed and he sat there still, thinking about the possibilities. Plans forming in his head to avoid the worst case scenarios. He tried sleeping, but his mind stayed stubbornly awake. He tried all of the tricks Aizawa had given him. Counting sheep, playing a movie in his head, working through calculus equations, and focusing on his breathing, but nothing worked. 

Before he knew it, it was already three in the morning. 

The icky feeling didn't go away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is dedicated to my loneliness and procrastination, as well as my beta who is probably sick of my shit, but still puts up with me because we're friends. Seriously though, this chapter took a long time because I was busy with other projects and kept putting it off. So I'm sorry for the long wait. I really am. Chapter two of One Horn and Means to an End will be posted in time.


End file.
